The job prospects of aviation workers will continue to decline despite cuts in fuel surcharges at British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, according to a travel staffing firm.

Gail Kenny, managing director at Gail Kenny Executive Search, told Recruiter: "The announcement that BA and Virgin are cutting their fuel surcharges is generally good news for both consumers and the travel industry. More specifically it should stimulate demand in the long-haul sector where the fuel surcharges were becoming very punitive. In terms of employment prospects in the airline sector, however, this is only a short-term shot in the arm, and it will take sustained lower oil prices before we will see a revival in the fortunes of aviation and the subsequent improvement in job prospects. For the time being more redundancies are likely to continue in the airline sector, along with further consolidation."