Easyjet has made proposals to close its bases in Stansted, Southend and Newcastle, in the wake of COVID-19, also making 727 pilots and up to 1,200 cabin crew redundant.

The airline, which operates flights from Malta to both Newcastle and Southend, did not specify how the redundancies and scaling down of operations is going to impact the routes to and from Malta. 

Media reports have suggested that while flights are expected to continue to Newcastle and Stansted – though with crew and planes based elsewhere – the same might not be the case for Southend. 

However, a search through the airline’s website confirms that – at the time of writing – flights to and from Newcastle will re-commence in August, while Southend-Malta routes kick off in September this year, with connections three times a week.

“These are very difficult proposals to put forward in what is an unprecedented and difficult time for the airline and the industry as a whole,” the airline’s chief executive, Johan Lundgren said in comments to the press. “Unfortunately, the lower-demand environment means we need fewer aircraft and have less opportunity for work for our people. We are committed to working constructively with our employee representatives across the network with the aim of minimising job losses as far as possible.”

Media reports have specified that a third of these job losses are set to come from the three bases, with other more potential redundancies in ground operations and aircraft maintenance roles still being discussed.

Easyjet said it remained committed to its UK operations, but believed that passenger numbers would not return to pre-COVID-19 levels until 2023.