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WestJet Airlines Lays Off 3,000 Employees And Grounds Flights

WestJet Airlines Ltd. Is laying off 3,000 people and canceling more than 4,000 domestic flights each week as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to hammer the airline industry.

The company said it will remove some 600 daily flights from its schedule between May 5 and June 4 - about 18,000 trips in total - due to "significantly reduced guest demand."

"With less than five per cent of our pre-COVID-19 guest loads, work is simply not currently available," WestJet President and CEO Ed Sims said in a statement.

The Calgary-based airline said all international flights, including to the U.S., remain suspended through June 4.

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Sims said WestJet appreciates Government of Canada programs during the pandemic and will use the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy to retain people on the payroll and to ensure they remain connected to the company.

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Last week, rival Air Canada halted most international flights until June, while Air Transat and Sunwing Airlines Ltd. cancelled all trips until May 31. The decisions extended the suspension of more than 160 Air Canada (T.AC) routes as well as Air Transat (T.TRZ) and Sunwing trips by another month as closed borders and vanishing demand ravage the travel industry.

WestJet and other airlines offer two-year vouchers for trips they've cancelled, though advocates argue travelers should be entitled to refunds for flight services paid for but not received, as in the United States and the European Union.