Responding to the announcement of a ban on international leisure travel as part of new lockdown measures in the UK, Henry Smith, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Future of Aviation, said: “The COVID-19 announcement on international travel restrictions is another serious blow to the already beleaguered aviation, travel and tourism industries, its employees and the communities who rely on them.”
He added that the announcement reinforces the need for immediate financial support to help our aviation industry survive. “We can’t have a global Britain without a thriving aviation sector and the consequences of failing to act to protect them are simply unthinkable.”
Smith’s message was echoed by Karen Dee, Chief Exeutive of the Airport Operators Association (AOA) and Tim Alderslade, CEO of Airlines UK. In a statement the pair described the announcement as a 180-degree reversal of policy, since the UK Government added the Canaries to the travel corridors list just last week.
“Aviation has been devastated by the pandemic and has essentially never had the opportunity to recover. A ban on international travel means airports and airlines, already hamstrung by quarantine, are closed businesses and will require financial support now – which other sectors like hospitality have received, alongside a comprehensive restart package.
“This needs to include immediate additional economic support for the winter and steps to support recovery, including urgent roll-out of a testing regime, business rates relief for airports, and an emergency waiver of Air Passenger Duty that will be essential for enabling and stimulating international travel – absolutely vital for the UK economy – for as long as we are living with this virus.”
The pair also underlined that hundreds of thousands of jobs are on the line, as is the UK’s economic recovery.
Meanwhile, Charlie Cornish, CEO of Manchester Airports Group (MAG), warned of the need for airports to act quickly to secure their future if urgent support is not provided.
Cornish reiterated that the British Prime Minister should offer an “urgent package of support” to aviation, pointing to dedicated support given to sectors such as retail, hospitality and the rail industry, while aviation has been left to fend for itself.
He also bemoaned the fact that the industry learned of the new travel ban on social media. He said: “Twitter is not the place where you want to find out that the Government is effectively shutting down the business you run.”
MAG, which operates Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports in the UK, has recently begun a consultation proposing that up to 892 jobs at its airports will be sadly made redundant. The group has consistently called for more targeted support for aviation since March when the pandemic and the first lockdown decimated its passenger base.
“Our sector was one of the first hit by this pandemic and one of the hardest hit,” he said. “Promises of specific support in recognition of this predicament were publicly made by government but never materialised. Tens of thousands of jobs have already been lost across the industry as a result of the situation we find ourselves in. An urgent package of support must materialise. That must include relief from business rates and policing costs.”
