Mr. Ray Gray:

This has been an exceptionally tough period of time for our staff, through no fault of their own, both in terms of Covid itself and also the concerns they have about the uncertainty of the business. They walk into empty terminals and they hear the outlook for aviation and travel in the media. They have also suffered a reduction in wages, in effect, through the reduction in hours we had to put in place over the last couple of months. The stark reality is that aviation will not be of the same scale in 2021 as it was in 2019. We therefore have to reduce the size and scale of our operation. Our focus has been, not just in the last number of months but in the last number of years, to engage positively with our staff, to trust them with information about difficult decisions and to talk to them about the commercial, financial and other realities that together we have to face. Something like compulsory redundancies is not a measure that companies, particularly State companies, seek to put in place if it is possible to avoid it. That is why we have engaged, and staff and trade unions have reciprocated, in a very intensive process about future options for staff and new ways of working. We hope to take all the necessary steps by working together in all areas and sections of the business and both airports.