The US cargo airline warns that more invasive inspections have been required following the fatal UPS crash earlier in November
Western Global has reportedly warned that its fleet of MD-11F freighters could be grounded longer than initially expected and has taken the decision to send out furlough notices as a result.
A letter to employees posted on social media by podcaster Nik Fialka and reported by Cargo Facts shows that the airline had been hoping that the grounding of its MD-11Fs as a result of a fatal crash earlier this month would be “short-lived”.
It said that Boeing had originally anticipated that it would have approved a "noninvasive" inspection protocol to return the aircraft to service by 14 November.
However, Boeing has now advised that more and "highly invasive" inspections, as well as repairs and part replacements, would be required, resulting in the grounding of its MD-11F fleet for an "undeterminable" period of time.
The airline said the MD-11Fs make up the majority of its fleet and it was therefore the most negatively affected by the grounding.
It said the current situation was untenable and that, as a result, it would furlough certain staff - reportedly pilots - starting on 22 November. Western pointed out that in its 12-year history, this is the first time it has issued furloughs or pay cuts.
"As you can imagine, this is devastating to WGA," the airline said in the letter.
According to tracking website FlightRadar24 , the airline has a fleet of 15 aircraft, made up of 12 MD-11Fs - although many of these are stored - and three Boeing 747-400s.
Western Global’s active MD-11Fs were largely used on international services to locations such as Ostend, Seoul, Hong Kong, Rota and Beersheba.
The FAA issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (AD) for MD-11Fs following the fatal crash of a UPS MD-11F after taking off from Louisville, US on 4 November.
The incident, which involved the left-hand engine and pylon detaching from the airplane during takeoff, is currently under investigation.
Other operators affected by the grounding are UPS and FedEx. Last week, FedEx said it was confident it could mitigate the impact of the grounding.
