According to the interlocutor of the agency, we are talking about involuntary downtime without payments and early termination of contracts.
It is clarified that not only Russian pilots, but also foreign flight personnel are quitting.
At the same time, China Southern Airlines sent a message to the pilot employees about their departure "in temporary downtime without saving wages."
“All foreign pilots will be sent to a temporary downtime without saving wages until the company notifies the pilots of the opportunity to return to work if the situation improves,” the agency quotes the newsletter.
On February 6, the South China Morning Post, citing sources, wrote that against the backdrop of the crisis caused by the spread of coronavirus infection and the “uncertainty facing the world's fastest growing aviation market,” several hundred foreign pilots became “redundant.”
On January 31, it became known that from February 1, Russia restricts air traffic with China: five airlines, including four Chinese, will operate flights.
As stated in the Federal Air Transport Agency, charter flights between Russia and China will be temporarily closed from February 14. Also, Turkey announced the termination of passenger flights until the end of February with China.
In particular, several companies announced the suspension and limitation of transportation, including Turkish Airlines, S7 Airlines, British Airways, Lion Air, Seoul Air and Ural Airlines. On February 7, the Chinese Foreign Ministry noted that Italy expressed its willingness to partially restore passenger air service with China.
According to the latest data, the number of victims of infection with a new type of coronavirus in the PRC has increased to 722. More than 34.5 thousand people are infected.