TUIfly confirms to halve fleet size as starts union talks

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Tour operator TUI’s TUIfly said on Thursday it will halve the size of its fleet of aircraft as part of a restructuring which has been accelerated by the coronavirus crisis, confirming an earlier Reuters report.

Talks will begin in earnest with worker representatives and trade unions about how to achieve the staff cuts, it said.

Reuters reported this month that TUIfly was seeking talks with worker representatives in a bid to complete a broader restructuring.

TUI said its European airlines will be merged into one company, based in Hanover, Germany.

“TUIfly plans to reduce the number of jobs in technical, administrative and crew functions as fewer aircraft are used. In future, TUIfly intends to concentrate on the departure airports of Hanover and Dsseldorf as the largest fleet locations, as well as Frankfurt, Munich and Stuttgart,” it said.

(Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Alexander Smith)