RwandAir cuts salaries to reduce expenditure amid COVID-19 pandemic

RwandAir has been "greatly impacted" by the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline said in a statement, adding that it has to implement several temporary measures to reduce expenditure, including the reduction of employees' salaries, to "protect the company's future well-being and to avoid laying off staff."

The "difficult" decision was made after evaluating the "stark" options available, in the context of a "severely affected aviation sector worldwide."

An internal memo of the airline seen earlier on Sunday indicates that it will cut the salaries of its lowest paid employees by 8 percent and those of its top earners by 65 percent.

RwandAir flew to 29 destinations across the world before the central African country suspended all commercial flights in March.
Regional airlines are facing liquidity and existential crisis, requiring urgent support measures, the East African Business Council, a regional umbrella organization of the private sector, said earlier this month.

RwandAir would lose 79,000 passengers and 20.4 million U.S. dollars in base revenues in Rwanda in the short term, it forecast.

The disruption to travel could also put at risk about 3,000 jobs in the country, it said.

The Rwandan Health Ministry on Sunday said the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country has reached 191 with 922 recoveries.