Flight Centre Travel Group has revealed that its senior leadership team will be giving up 50% of their salaries and that the company will be temporarily halting trading on Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
It comes as a result of the escalating government-imposed restrictions to slow the spread of Covid-19.
Flight Centre’ Managing Director Graham Turner said while h4 supports and understands short-term containment efforts that prioritise public health and safety, the new rules were “significantly impacting” them.
“In some countries and locations, we have been forced to temporarily close some of our businesses because of restrictions on-essential services, while borders are now generally shut to most travellers”.
Flight Centre’s Managing Director Graham Turner
“This means that we cannot currently open some of our shops and that we are effectively unable to offer you many of our products –particularly international airfares,” he said.
“Our people can, of course, still help you if you are travelling late in the year and are able to help you change your current arrangements”.
He said he was focused on a response that “minimised the effects on any one group and that will help us successfully overcome this short-term challenge and thrive into the future”.
“Before international and domestic travel restrictions were heightened in Australia, we flagged plans to bring forward the scheduled closures of some 100 leisure shops throughout the country and, in recent days, we have warned of inevitable job losses throughout the industry and within our company,” he said.
Today they made another difficult decision by cancelling the $40.1million interim dividend payment that was due to be paid to shareholders next month.
Today, they requested a short-term suspension of trading in shares while we finalising our strategies ahead of a more detailed ASX announcement in the near-term.
Our management and our people throughout the world are determined to ensure the business overcomes the significant challenges that it currently faces and, with the support of our stakeholders, is ready to prosper when conditions eventually normalise.