Robert Sinclair, London City Airport’s CEO has urged the new Global Travel Taskforce to move quickly to get business air travel back up and flying again. He said that he hoped the group would “acknowledge the fundamental importance of business air travel to the economic recovery prospects of the UK and other sectors such as hospitality and leisure.”
Prior to the pandemic data shows that the UK’s domestic aviation sector contributed £15 billion to the UK economy. New polling shows that demand for air travel among UK business leaders continues to be widespread. A new report by WPI strategy reveals the majority of UK business leaders see air travel as key to their future economic prospects and would return to the skies if quarantine measures were eased.
With 515 business leaders the report revealed that 88% of business leaders with more than 250 employees believe air travel is important to the future success of their business. Meanwhile 48% thought the government’s travel and quarantine restrictions were the single biggest barrier to business air travel, while 76% believe that airport testing would increase confidence when travelling.
“The UK aviation industry is the third largest in the world and a global success story,” said Sinclair. “But it is not just an industry itself, it also acts as an enabler of other industries such as trade, tourism, hospitality, imports, exports and conferences. We know that the demand for air travel is there, but restrictive quarantine measures are currently holding business leaders back from flying, and the UK economy from beginning its recovery.”
He added that he hoped the Global Travel Taskforce moves quickly to introduce a roadmap for aviation which sets out how a testing regime can be implemented quickly. “Doing so could deliver a much-needed shot in the arm for business air travel, boosting economic growth across every region and every sector.”
Warner Rootliep, Managing Director of KLM Cityhopper echoed Sinclair’s comments saying: “KLM has a long standing commitment to serve the UK regions. We have rebuilt our regional presence in the UK over the last few months, reopening all routes. Connecting the UK regions to the world through our hub in AMS is of vital importance to the regional economy of these communities, especially in these challenging times… We hope the Taskforce will be able to define a roadmap that will allow us to eliminate the quarantine measures and reinstall travel confidence so that we can continue to rebuild our regional frequencies that is so vital for the regional economy.”
