United Airlines to close Japan’s Narita hub, affecting 270 jobs: NHK

TOKYO (Reuters) – United Airlines will close its hub for flight attendants at Japan’s Narita Airport by the end of this month, affecting 270 jobs, NHK reported, citing the airline and a labor union.

About 270 of the airline’s staff, including 150 flight attendants, could lose their jobs because of the closure, which was affected by deteriorating earnings due to the coronavirus pandemic, NHK said.

The labor union is asking the airline to keep the employees’ jobs by relocating them, NHK said. However, United Airlines responded to NHK’s query by saying the company needed to “make a severe decision”.

“The impact of the virus on the airline industry was so serious that we had not experienced before,” the airline was quoted as saying.

United Airlines said earlier this month it was preparing to furlough 16,370 workers when federal aid expires on Oct. 1 as the pandemic continues to devastate the airline industry, though one union said many more people will be without pay.

United’s cuts include 6,920 flight attendants, but the unionrepresenting them said 14,000 will not have a paycheck inOctober unless the U.S. Congress acts to extend $25 billion in aid.

(Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Bernadette Baum)