AirAsia Philippines eyes rehiring laid-off workers by Q2 next year

Budget carrier AirAsia Philippines is planning to rehire workers it has laid-off due to the COVID-19 crisis that has affected domestic and international air travel, as it expects operations to return to pre-pandemic levels by the second quarter of 2022.

“Rehiring to us is a top priority. As a matter of fact, hopefully by the second quarter (of 2022), tingnan natin papunta tayo diyan,” AirAsia Philippines chief executive officer Ricky Isla said at a virtual briefing on Friday.

“There will be more aircraft, more destinations, additional destinations or flights so that’s the first thing we will do is to rehire pilots, cabin crew members, engineers, and maintenance people,” Isla said.

AirAsia Philippines spokesperson Steve Dailisan, for his part, said the airline had to let go of 624 employees at the height of the pandemic.

Currently, the budget carrier has a 1,500-strong workforce.

As to how many workers will be rehired, Isla said, “We cannot give you the details at this point. Right now, we are looking at a workforce that is sufficient for our aircraft and our destinations.”

Meanwhile, Dailisan said the number of workers to be rehired will depend on the easing of border restrictions, especially on international destinations.

Nonetheless, the AirAsia chief said that the local aviation sector is expecting that air travel will be “back to normal, pre-pandemic level” by the second quarter of next year.

In anticipation of the recovery and easing of travel restrictions, AirAsia Philippines is planning to restart flights between Manila and Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand by December this year, mainly to serve the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). —LBG, GMA News