Managing director John Hays has approached Travel 2 owner dnata about taking on staff from Travel 2, which is set to be merged with sister brand Gold Medal under current proposals.

These proposals, which will see Travel 2’s Glasgow office close, are currently going through a 45-day consultation period.

Hays said they had been struggling to find staff with the right skills for an expansion of Hays Tour Operating before the lockdown in March, including those with experience using GDSs to book flights and other tour operating skills.

“When we saw that Travel 2 was closing in Glasgow - that was the obvious solution,” he added. “We decided to see if any of their staff were interested.

“Travel 2 staff have a fantastic reputation and it’s really sad that through no fault of their own they face losing their jobs.

“We’ve been working together with dnata, Travel 2 and Gold Medal to try and have a home for the very excellent staff who might be made redundant. It’s a win-win.”

Hays added that even if dnata decided not to close the Travel 2 office, they would still go ahead with the new Glasgow premises.

“There’s quite a way to go with the consultation process – and from our point of view we’re going to open an office in Glasgow,” he said. “It’s progressing as we’ve got enough interest from other sources.”

Hays Travel has instructed estate agent Savills to look for offices in Glasgow with two potential sites being identified, including one location on the same business park as the current Travel 2 base.

Lisa McAuley, managing director of Gold Medal & Travel 2, said: “We can confirm that we have been approached by Hays Travel to discuss whether there may be the opportunity for the redeployment of a number of our employees following our collective consultation process. 

“In the event our proposals proceed, and we must stress we are still in consultation with our impacted employees at this time, we would welcome discussions with potential employers as we would understandably want to do everything possible to help secure gainful employment for all employees who may leave our business by reason of redundancy.”