The airport Operators Association Chief Executive, Karen Dee, has spoken out on how the easing of travel restrictions by the UK Government is a good step forward, but the UK’s travel regime remains more onerous than other nations.
“By reducing complexity and the cost of testing, this should encourage more people to travel this winter and allow airports to see a further uplift in passenger numbers,” she said.
“However, this last formal checkpoint of the Global Travel Taskforce should have been that time to return to restriction-free travel at a time when nearly all of the population has been vaccinated. Instead, we continue to have a more onerous approach to travel than our European competitors.”
She added that ultimately “we need to return to a situation similar to prior to the pandemic, in which people can travel without further tests or forms to fill out. The UK and devolved governments should aim for this as soon as is safely possible. Until a full recovery is possible, the UK Government should follow the example of the devolved governments and maintain meaningful support for airports, such as employment support and business rates relief.”
Meanwhile, Glyn Jones, CEO London Southend Airport added that “the government travel update is welcome news, albeit too late to make any real difference to the industries peak summer period. Passenger confidence needs rebuilding and we hope that we are finally heading in the right direction.”
London Southend has been campaigning for clarity in travel requirements as well as subsidised testing costs. “The removal of the traffic light systems and lateral flow test acceptance is a big step to recovery or the aviation industry, which has experienced significant disruption for the last 18 months,” Jones concluded.
