Icarus2001
I reckon there’ll be some that won’t come back if or when called (early retirements, already found other jobs back home etc.) but, in general, most will entertain the possibility of returning. At the end of the day, it wasn’t their choice to leave.
However, EK very clearly made sure that there was no promise of recall whatsoever. Because it all depends on the speed of the “recovery”.
A quick bounce of pax numbers will force EK to recall since it is not quick or easy to train long haul pilots on such a niche type - takes years! And you can’t just use low hour folks. All 380 pilots are current and will require minimal training to return to the line.
A slower recovery will buy time for EK to develop locals and allow them to hire cheaper low experience pilots in the meantime and also offer a chance to let leases expire, retire A380s and substitute them for more efficient types. In this scenario, I believe EK might adopt a different approach and not recall but instead open recruitment as they have done in the past.
Having been an expat pilot for many, many years I believe the EK bunch are particularly good at their job and is heartbreaking to see how much talent has been made redundant this year. Other airlines - like Wizzair for obvious reasons (ex EK management) - are well aware of this and will surely try to compete for these guys as they know they have operated and trained to some of the highest standards in the industry.