Summit Air announced Tuesday that it is bringing back full-time employees laid off amid a Covid-19 pandemic that has seen passenger flight service drop precipitously.
In a news release issued by the company, the airline stated that because it will be adopting the Government of Canada's Employment Wage Subsidy, those laid off will be rehired to "help maintain employment levels over the next three months.
“Our focus right now is on taking care of our people, business continuity and on positioning Summit Air to emerge from this crisis stronger, for the long-term benefit of us all”, stated Lane Zirnhelt, chief operating officer, Summit Aviation Group. “Much of our work has stopped as a result of the pandemic; our flying hours are down significantly compared to pre-Covid-19 levels and this is expected to continue for the next 12 weeks.”
On March 27, the company had announced that it was temporarily laying off 45 employees.
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The company has 170 employees based in Yellowknife, Edmonton and Calgary.
Zirnhelt praised the wage subsidy program stating that without it, the company would have had "to consider further layoffs."
"This approach allows us to take care of our people and be prepared for an eventual recovery," he added. "We appreciate the flexibility demonstrated by our employee team.”
The company has stated that several measures have been taken since the public emergency was announced to avoid employee layoffs. Among them have been delaying capital projects, moving contractor or contracted work in-house.
The company "has been working diligently with customers to find alternative solutions that work for them while also ensuring crews are able to operate in a safe environment," the news release stated.
"With all our employees available, we can be more responsive to our clients’ needs, which we hope will lead to more opportunities,” Zirnhelt stated.
Summit has added new scheduled charter flights in recent weeks to meet the demand of Northern customers during the pandemic as well as reduced scheduled routes provided by national carriers.
“With a highly-skilled workforce that knows the North and a fleet that is designed for remote services we are able to accommodate most medium-range air transport needs in the region," said Myles Cane, vice-president of operations for Summit Air. "We also have freighter aircraft available to accommodate most cargo needs.”