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LONDON, June 15 (Reuters) - British Airways is fighting for
its survival and has acted lawfully, Willie Walsh, the chief
executive of the airline's owner IAG said on Monday, in
a terse response to lawmakers who heavily criticised its
treatment of employees.
On Saturday the airline was labelled a "national disgrace"
by parliament's Transport Select Committee, who said IAG were
trying to take advantage of the coronavirus crisis to cut 12,000
jobs and downgrade the terms and conditions of other employees.
Walsh defended the company in a letter to the committee,
rejecting the lawmakers' findings and saying their report was
not based on facts.
"British Airways is fighting for its survival, in the face
of overwhelming and unprecedented challenges, while respecting
the fundamental British value of the rule of law. This is not a
disgrace," he wrote.
BA is engaged in a battle with unions and in legal action
against the government over a quarantine policy which requires
all international arrivals to self-isolate for 14 days.
Walsh, one of the most experienced airline bosses in the
world, said it was clear that the government had no plans to
help the sector restart and recover, and criticised the
quarantine.
The airline is burning through 20 million pounds ($25.2
million) a day and has no revenues. It is preparing for what
most airlines and travel experts expect to be a smaller travel
market after the coronavirus pandemic.
"We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure
that British Airways can survive and sustain the maximum number
of jobs consistent with the new reality of a changed airline
industry in a severely weakened national and global economy,"
Walsh wrote.
(Reporting by Sarah Young and William James, editing by Estelle
Shirbon)
