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 | | Thursday, 31 January, 2002, 14:47 GMT Air caterer cuts 800 jobs  The job losses are the result of an industry downturn An airport services company has cut 800 jobs in the UK because of the downturn in air travel since the attacks on the US on 11 September. Alpha Airports, which provides in-flight meals for airlines in the UK, including British Airways, Britannia and Go, said it made the cuts to weather the slump in the aviation industry. The company has cut 800 jobs, with 287 at Gatwick and Heathrow, and the rest at regional airports in the UK. A total of 923 jobs will be cut worldwide, with the rest in Australia and Jordan. 'Cautiously optimistic' Most of the cuts were made in the month following the attacks on New York on 11 September. "The effect of the 11 September attacks was immediately felt across the industry, and we had to take action quickly," an Alpha spokesman said. "With the substantial reduction in worldwide airline travel, we have been faced with no alternative but to introduce a programme of redundancies across all our businesses."
Alpha said its catering business has been hit by the reduction in British Airways (BA) flights and the move of many of the airline's long-haul flights from Gatwick Airport to Heathrow. This decision affected Alpha's kitchen at Gatwick, the company said in a trading update released on Thursday. Alpha is the UK's largest airline caterer, providing over 60 million meals a year to more than 100 airlines. The company has operations at airports in Birmingham, Luton, Leeds, the East Midlands, Manchester, Newcastle, Plymouth and Stansted, Belfast and several in Scotland. Its Australian business was badly affected by the bankruptcy of Australian airline, Ansett. Alpha said it was also losing money in the food operations it operates at British regional airports following changes to airline schedules and the changing passenger mix at some airports. But the company said in a statement it was "cautiously optimistic" that business will improve. "Looking ahead, we are encouraged that the trading outlook continues to become clearer as our airline and airport customers redefine their businesses in line with opportunities." | |  
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