Mumbai, March 18 (IANS): A day after temporarily suspending international operations due to coronavirus and the consequent travel restrictions, GoAir said here on Wednesday it had terminated contracts of expatriate pilots.

The move was in line with the reduced international capacity, it said.

"In view of the current situation, GoAir has been forced to terminate contracts of expat pilots, which is in line with the reduced international capacity," a GoAir spokesperson said.

On Tuesday, the airline had suspended international operations till April 15. The airline flew to Dammam, Kuwait City, Muscat, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bangkok, Phuket and Male.

Many countries have issued travel bans to curb the outbreak. India has temporarily banned all passengers coming from a host of countries and vice-versa.

The passengers from the EU, European Free Trade Association, Turkey and the UK have been prohibited from entering India either through land, air or seaports.

Further, it has been decided to put all passengers coming from the UAE, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait in a 14-day compulsory isolation, starting Wednesday at the port of first departure.

Besides, the airline has initiated a short-term rotational leave without pay programme that "will not only help the company counter the short-term reduction in capacity, but will also ensure that a cross section of employees stay away from the workplace for a month at a time to ensure business continuity."

"Knowing that this will put a financial burden on the affected employees and having studied what companies have done in other countries to help guide our plans, this decision was not taken lightly," the airline had said on Tuesday.

Airlines across the world have taken drastic measures to handle this extraordinary situation, with some reports showing that the world's leading airlines are reducing 50-90 per cent flight capacity in April and May.

"No sooner the situation improves, GoAir will restart these flights and operate at the earliest opportunity," the spokesperson said.