Iberia to negotiate furlough with unions if Spain ends COVID force majeure

MADRID, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Spanish airline Iberia will seek
to negotiate furlough deals directly with unions should Spain's
force majeure government furlough scheme, set to expire at the
end of September, not be extended for the aviation sector, the
company said on Monday.

The airline, which is owned by IAG and recently
bought struggling Spanish rival Air Europa in a cut-price deal,
said that it would propose a furlough to workers citing
"organisational and productive causes".

It did not give further details of what any possible deal
could entail.

"The slowdown of the economic recovery and the growing
uncertainty as to whether, and under which conditions, the force
majeure furloughs will apply to the aerial sector have spurred
Iberia to begin negotiations with its labour unions," the
company said in a statement.

The airline added that it continued to operate 30-35% below
pre-pandemic levels, largely due to the restrictions on tourism
towards the United States, Latin America, Japan and China.

Air travel to Spain has slowly begun to recover in recent
months with 5 million international passengers arriving in
August, according to official data released on Monday, soaring
by 172% from a year ago, but less than half pre-pandemic levels.
(Reporting by Clara-Laeila Laudette; Editing by Nathan Allen
and Jan Harvey)