BA CityFlyer (CJ, London City) has notified its pilot corps that it will close its crew base at Edinburgh. The British Air Line Pilots Association (BALPA) said in a statement that it had also called for an internal consultation on a job protection package put forward by parent British Airways (BA, London Heathrow), despite describing the current offer as "hugely disappointing".

"The news of the closure of the Edinburgh base is bitterly disappointing. Not only is it devastating for those involved but it is also a truly sad day for Scottish aviation," a union spokesperson said.

According to the ch-aviation schedules, BA CityFlyer operates a single route out of Edinburgh on behalf of its parent, to London City. While normally the route is operated up to 11x daily with E190s, in the current, severely restricted schedule, the airline plies it only 5x weekly using both E190s and E170s.

Meanwhile, BALPA said that following nearly three months of negotiations with British Airways, it would now present the agreed upon job protection package to its members. The negotiated deal involves voluntary measures including part-time work and severances, the creation of a holding pool of 300 pilots on reduced pay ready for a quick return to flying, pay cuts starting at 20% and gradually reduced going forward, and the avoidance of a "fire and rehire" policy which BALPA sees as a means to retain pilots but on much worse terms.

While presenting the offer to its members for a vote, due to end on July 30, BALPA said that the concessions made by BA were disappointing.

"It is hugely disappointing that during our extensive negotiations, British Airways would not accept the full package of mitigations we put forward which would have avoided any job losses at all, and at no cost to BA. As a result there will be some compulsory redundancies amongst the pilot community and that is a matter of huge regret," General Secretary Brian Strutton said.

The deal foresees around 270 involuntary layoffs among BA pilots, although the number could drop if more staff accept voluntary measures.