Smartwings, the airline which owns ČSA announced it was shutting down all flights beyond the Czech Republic and will ground up to one half of its fleet. The process took several days as it was necessary to ensure Czech tourists were able to return home. The company employs over 2,300 people whose jobs are now on the line. “There’s no way to estimate what impact this will have on the company’s revenues at this point,” wrote the company in a statement. The entire airline industry is in turmoil as country after country shuts down their borders. SAS revealed over the weekend that it would be firing up to 90 percent of its employees, meaning that 10,000 people would be out of work. The British-based regional airline Flybe collapsed nearly two weeks ago and was acquired by Virgin Atlantic.
