SIA resumes recruitment of cabin crew after two-year hiring freeze

SINGAPORE - National carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) has begun recruiting cabin crew again, after a two-year hiring freeze brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is to meet new manpower requirements amid rising demand for international air travel, as more vaccinated travel lanes (VTLs) have been set up, said SIA on Saturday (Feb 12).

The airline - which has been boosting its capacity and adjusting its passenger services in line with the increased demand - is now accepting applications through its website. However, it did not say how many new workers it intends to hire.

SIA said the latest hiring drive takes into account the need to replace cabin crew who have left over the past two years, as well as to meet its growth plans.

The airline will shortlist and select candidates based on merit and suitability for the role.

According to the SIA Group's 2020/2021 annual report, Singapore's national carrier lost a total of 2,829 employees between end-March 2020 and end-March 2021. Of these, 2,379 were cabin crew.

As at March 31, 2021, there were 6,887 cabin crew employed by SIA, compared with 9,266 the year before, a 25.7 per cent drop.

The airline did not provide figures on its current staff strength.

A big reason for the job loss was a major job cutting exercise in September 2020, as SIA grappled with closed borders and grounded planes.

The group decided to cut around 4,300 positions across its carriers - SIA, its subsidiary SilkAir and low-cost carrier Scoot - in September 2020.

The move affected about 2,000 employees in Singapore and in overseas stations, after accounting for measures such as a hiring freeze instituted since February 2020 and natural attrition.

At the height of the pandemic, more than 2,000 SIA staff were also redeployed to the Covid-19 frontlines, supporting hospital workers, ensuring safe distancing among commuters, and helping to process Covid-19 support grants

SIA said the airline has remained in contact with cabin crew who were affected by the 2020 layoffs and invited former crew members to apply for a position as part of the recruitment drive.

Like other applicants, these former staff members will also be shortlisted and selected based on merit and suitability, it added.

While it declined to share exact figures, the airline said most of its current cabin crew and pilots are now back on active duty.

This is thanks to the resumption of international air travel, mainly via VTLs. Singapore currently has 24 such air travel lanes set up.

Because of this, SIA Group carried more than 300,000 passengers in November 2021, 59.4 per cent more than in the previous month of October.

In December 2021, almost 600,000 passengers flew on SIA and Scoot planes.

The airline group’s passenger capacity has also gone up from 45 per cent of pre-Covid-19 levels as at end-December last year to about 53 per cent currently.

That same month, SIA Group launched VTL flights from Bangkok, Seattle, Vancouver, Istanbul, Phnom Penh and Male in the Maldives, among others.

With Australia - a major market for both Singaporean and transit passengers - reopening its borders to all vaccinated travellers from Feb 21 this year, SIA is also expected to add more flights to and from the continent.

A spokesman said: "SIA will continue to make necessary investments, both in our people and the business, to ensure that we are in a position to emerge stronger as international air travel recovers."

Independent aviation analyst Brendan Sobie, from consultancy Sobie Aviation, said cabin crew recruitment is not necessarily an indication of recovery.

It can be driven by staff retention rates and other factors.

“Hiring now could be due to a combination of staff attrition and future capacity expectations,” he added.

One issue impacting retention rates is that unlike airline crew from other countries, crew of Singapore-based carriers are still prohibited from leaving their hotels while overseas.

A media report in December last year described how the restrictions on SIA and Scoot crew had taken a toll on their mental health, with several of those interviewed considering quitting their jobs.

Mr Sobie said it is important that Singapore ease overseas restrictions on air crew to improve the attractiveness of the job, and allow airlines here to hire foreigners for these positions.

He added that without changes a shortage of crew could result, impacting the ability of Singapore to continue its recovery as an air hub.