Russia’s flag carrier Aeroflot has started paying extra money to its crews flying to China, the Sheremetyevo Air Traffic Trade Union said on its site on Saturday, according to Yakutia 24.
The service crews at those flights will receive an extra 8,300 rubles (about $130) per flight, the union said.
“The company’s management decided to give the extra pay of 8,300 rubles per flight to cockpit crews on flights to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong in order to raise the level of motivation,” Aeroflot said in a newsletter to the staff published by the trade union.
“We do not comment on the issues related to the systems of staff motivation,” Aeroflot press office told Russian media.
On February 1, regular flights between Russia and China were suspended in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Only state-run Aeroflot was allowed to fly commercial routes. Russia’s Transport Ministry allowed the carriers to fly charter routes to evacuate Russian citizens from China. On February 14, charter flights between the two countries will be stopped officially.
The World Health Organization declared the new coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, characterizing it as an epidemic with multiple locations. According to the latest reports, China has confirmed more than 40,000 cases of patients infected with the virus. Its death toll has hit more than 800, while more than 2,000 patients have recovered from the disease.