Stansted Airport

In line with new lockdown measures in England that came into effect on Thursday 5 November, airports and their associated businesses across the country are bracing themselves for the impact of an international travel ban.

In the days leading up to the Thursday lockdown deadline, airports saw a mass exodus with more passenger traffic than they have seen for months. While the UK’s first nationwide lockdown saw supermarket shelves being raided and loo-roll becoming the must-have currency, this time round rather than hunker down at home some Brits have been a bit more savvy, hopping on flights to escape the impending lockdown. Others have flown off for work while they can or back home to their families. London Heathrow reportedly hired extra staff to meet the demand on the last day before lockdown.

However, as of this morning all outbound international travel will be banned except for in exceptional circumstances. Industry leaders representing UK airports and airlines described the ban as a hammer blow underlining that it would mean “airlines and airports, already hamstrung by quarantine, are closed businesses.”

Criticising the lack of warning that was given ahead of the ban, Charlie Cornish, CEO of Manchester Airport Group (MAG), which owns and operates Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports, said: “The government’s decision to ban people from travelling abroad came without warning and with no discussion with the industry about the support it will receive to help get it through this period.” He added that, “Twitter is not the place where you want to find out that the government is effectively shutting down the business you run.”

A core exit strategy from this second lockdown and a vital action to help rebuild the UK’s economy must be the government adhering to its own deadline to have passenger testing at airports up and running by the beginning of December. “If countries like Germany were the hare, racing ahead in establishing a system that got people flying again, we hoped to be the tortoise – slow out of the blocks but with a regime we were told would be ‘world leading’ when in place,” Cornish concluded.

“Instead, we are reacting to news that leaves many in our industry facing a very bleak future.”

Now is the time for the UK Government to level the playing field and deliver the dedicated support for airports and airlines that has been provided for other sectors. Relief from business rates and policing costs, as well as support for those employees whose livelihoods are at risk and a review of passenger taxes will be critical if airports are to win back popular routes and plot the quickest possible route to recovery.

I hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter and have a great weekend.

Chloë Greenbank,

Editor, Regional Gateway

Leave a Reply