{"id":20159,"date":"2020-03-13T15:37:01","date_gmt":"2020-03-13T15:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=20159"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:44:30","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:44:30","slug":"flybe-cabin-crew-mourn-jobs-lost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=20159","title":{"rendered":"‘We built a community’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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After Flybe collapsed into administration last week, not only have 2,000 people lost their jobs but the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s regional airports and the wider civil aviation industry have been plunged into crisis amid the coronavirus outbreak.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Former Flybe workers, Unite members, have called on the government to take immediate action to ensure a future for regional connectivity in the UK.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As they demand action, ex-cabin crew reflected on what not only the country risks losing but what they have already lost personally as well.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

‘Shock’<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Speaking to UniteLive after a meeting at Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s headquarters on Thursday (March 12), former Flybe cabin crew member Barry Milligan (pictured below) recounted how he felt when he first heard the news that the airline where he worked for nearly two decades had gone under.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"flybe<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMy initial reaction was shock first and foremost,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI’ve got bills to pay so from that point of view it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s immediate. For my friends and colleagues it’s just utter devastation. We built something out of Flybe as a community of cabin crew that we don’t want to lose. It’s a very strong community and it extended out to our customers too, who were our friends.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ex-Flybe cabin crew member Michelle McKinnon (pictured) also spoke of the working environment at Flybe that felt more like a family than anything else.<\/p>\n

\"flybe<\/p>\n

‘It never felt like a job’<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bEvery day was very different,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt was just a very jovial job. There was no way to describe it. It never actually felt like a job – it felt like a day out that you got paid for. My daughter’s godmother lives in Glasgow and I met her through Flybe. We’re firm, firm friends. Overall, we’re a very close-knit network of crew.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Former cabin crew member William Stewart (pictured below) agreed, adding that the working conditions were among the best in the industry.<\/p>\n

\"flybe<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI’ve worked for four airlines,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bFlybe was the most family-orientated airline. It was a company where we could have the best of both worlds.\u00c2\u00a0 We could come to work, and instead of doing night stops we could stay at home. We’re part of relatively small crew and we were really close friends with pilots, with the cabin crew – it’s a really tight-knit community across all the networks.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now, Flybe cabin crew who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve lost their jobs face a frighteningly uncertain future as the entire civil aviation industry in the UK reaches a breaking point spurred on by the coronavirus epidemic.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWith the coronavirus and with the perhaps imminent collapse of other airlines this will probably be the end of my career in the industry,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Stewart said.<\/p>\n

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‘Lost and vulnerable’<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Michelle said she felt \u00e2\u20ac\u015blost and vulnerable\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 after losing a job she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s had\u00c2\u00a0for twenty years \u00e2\u20ac\u201c since she was nineteen years old.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI’m based in Belfast and currently I have no opportunities in aviation,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe were always a very niche market and Flybe was one of the biggest employers. I don’t know what’s next for me. Obviously with what’s going on in the industry now I don’t know if there will be a viable option for me in aviation.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Worried about the more immediate future, she said getting paid two weeks before losing her job means she only has another week before the faces the prospect of struggling to make ends meet.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI’m beginning to get very anxious about the 20th<\/sup> [when we usually get paid and] no wages come in,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Though the former cabin crew are forced to come to terms with the collapse of Europe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s largest regional airline and in the process the loss of their immediate jobs, they haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t thrown in the towel yet.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As advocates for their vocation and for the customers they so loyally served, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re now calling for the government to take measures to ensure regional connectivity throughout the UK is protected.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

‘You need to realise how devastating this is’<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Barry spoke of his anger at the government after hearing the news for the first time \u00e2\u20ac\u201c in media reports \u00e2\u20ac\u201c that Flybe had gone bust.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI lived in hope that Flybe would be saved,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said, visibly emotional. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIn fact I believed it would be saved based on the promises of [former business secretary] Andrea Leadsom and [transport secretary] Grant Shapps who gave assurances from the government that Flybe was vital; that it was important to the regions and it was part of the Tory manifesto to connect to regions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI believed that we were so important to the regions that we just couldn’t fail.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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He called on the government to realise the importance of keeping regions connected.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt’s vital for the UK economy,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bYou only have to look at large airports — not even the small ones which are now totally wiped out with no flying.\u00c2\u00a0 Even in large airports like Manchester and Glasgow, 50 per cent of the flights are down. You need to realise how devastating this is.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Michelle agreed and called for other airlines who take on Flybe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s routes to ensure they establish proper bases in airports like Belfast\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s to secure their future.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe must retain connectivity,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bOther airlines that are still flying are capitalising on our demise and the fares have become extortionate — the general public will not be able to sustain those prices,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe request a base to be opened at Belfast Airport not only to create jobs for ourselves but to secure the airport. We [at Flybe] were 80 per cent of Belfast Airport’s business and that airport requires us to be there for our long term future.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Preserve jobs call<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Unite assistant general secretary Diana Holland said the union would continue to petition the government to step in and do the right thing — and not let the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic decimate the future of regional airports and airlines.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bLast week 2,000 workers at Flybe lost their jobs when the airline collapsed,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said earlier this week. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite is deeply concerned that without recognition of the need for immediate government support, thousands more jobs are at risk.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe government and the chancellor in particular must use all levers available to provide immediate financial assistance to support the future of the industry.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAirlines have already initiated talks with unions to find ways to deal with the calamitous collapse in bookings, which could lead to workers not being paid or losing their jobs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe government had earmarked a \u00c2\u0141100 million to support Flybe,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt should be utilised to encourage new carriers to take on those routes in order to preserve regional connectivity and keep regional airports open.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bA delay in providing support to the industry is not an option, if jobs and services are to be preserved then action must be taken immediately.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After Flybe collapsed into administration last week, not only have 2,000 people lost their jobs but the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s regional airports and the wider civil aviation industry have been plunged into crisis amid the coronavirus outbreak.   Former Flybe workers, Unite members, have called on the government to take immediate action to ensure a future for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20163,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[1295,1063],"wps_subtitle":"Ex-Flybe cabin crew mourn the jobs they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve lost \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and call for government action","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20159"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20159"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24649,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20159\/revisions\/24649"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}