• Four months ago, companies in the airport sector, which manages both passenger reception and meal trays, decided to form an association.

  • On July 1, the aid related to partial activity changes and according to the brand new Association of Airport Trades, this could have an impact on employment in their sector.

  • In Toulouse, if the government does not review the conditions for granting this aid, this could lead to the elimination of 8,000 jobs in the airport sector.

They are baggage handlers, airport receptionists or even meal preparers for planes.

So many shadow jobs without which planes could not fly and which have been hit hard by the crisis in the aviation sector born from the coronavirus epidemic.

The latter recorded a traffic fall of 86.3% in the first quarter of 2021 in France compared to the same period in 2019. In Toulouse, the airport is planning a resumption of activities up to 42% for this summer, not enough to keep the sector and its employees afloat.

While 3,000 seasonal jobs have not been created this year, more than 8,000 direct and indirect jobs are already threatened on the airport platform.

To avoid eliminating these non-relocatable positions, but also non-interchangeable, the managers of the companies in the sector decided four months ago to structure themselves within the Association of airport trades to be heard by the government.

Extend partial activity

They fear in particular the change announced on July 1 in terms of partial activity without any charge for the employer. As of this date, its allocation will be subject to an 80% drop in activity. “However, we will be at a decline in activity oscillating between -75% and -70%, this will generate losses. Until now we have made sure to avoid restructuring plans thanks to partial activity measures, but if they stop, it will be complicated ”, notes Matthieu Jeandel, vice-president of Newrest, a specialist Toulouse company. in catering, the delivery of in-flight meal trays.

If the activity picks up a little, it is not important enough to occupy the employees full time. A porter will thus intervene on half as many flights as before. "And what does he do while he waits between flights?" We cannot put them to rest, ”insists Matthieu Jeandel. Since the start of the crisis, like many others, his company has experienced a huge drop in turnover.

To avoid the crash, the members of the association therefore ask the government to maintain partial activity without a threshold for loss of turnover for a certain time.

“We are not asking for a blank check.

The goal is not to be infused, it is to have a partial activity maintained until October 31 in our sector, not to disconnect the support mechanisms too quickly.

And, afterwards, to look for a partial activity of long duration adapted ”, proposes Marie Bodin of City One, company which deals in particular with the orientation of the passengers in the terminals.

For weeks, they have been heating their phones near ministers' offices.

History to limit breakage.

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