PSA to lay off 47 maintenance workers at Dayton airport

Dayton-based regional air carrier PSA Airlines's hangar at Dayton International Airport. THOMAS GNAU/STAFF

Dayton-based regional air carrier PSA Airlines's hangar at Dayton International Airport. THOMAS GNAU/STAFF

PSA Airlines, the only Ohio-based airline, intends to outsource its maintenance work, the airline told Ohio government this week.

“PSA Airlines Inc, will be reducing its workforce at Dayton, International Airport ..., " the airline said in a letter dated Thursday to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. “PSA is outsourcing its professional maintenance and engineering technical services to a third party vendor to increase our aircraft reliability.”

By Oct. 25 or soon thereafter, PSA will reduce its workforce related to maintenance and engineering, the company said.

These layoffs are expected to be permanent, the company added.

The state puts the latest number of PSA layoffs at 47.

The global pandemic is slowly destroying the American aviation industry. More than 400,000 airline workers have been fired, furloughed or laid off. Some believe we may not return to 2019 passenger volumes until 2023 or later, according to Airlines for America, an aviation industry advocacy organization.

“Right now, things are a total disaster,” Adam Pilarski, senior vice president with Chantilly, Va.-based aviation consulting firm Avitas Inc., told the Dayton Daily News last month. “And they will continue to be a disaster for some time.”

More than 20 percent of U.S. aircraft have been grounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Airlines for America.

In an earlier WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act) Notice to the state, in July , PSA said it intends to lay off nearly 230 workers in October.

A PSA spokeswoman said Friday these new layoffs are in addition to the 230 planned layoffs announced last month.

PSA Airlines is a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Airlines and operates an all-jet American Eagle fleet.

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