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LONDON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Britain's airlines, airports and
aviation manufacturers pleaded for immediate financial support
from the government and a longer-term recovery plan after
COVID-19 stopped travel and new testing requirements dashed
bounce-back hopes.
Three trade bodies said they wrote to British Prime Minister
Boris Johnson on Wednesday to ask for a package of measures
including temporarily suspending business rates and a tax on
flying, extra loans for airlines and access to funds for the
aerospace supply chain.
Help was needed to "protect companies from the threat to
their survival" posed by the pandemic, and to prevent more jobs
being put at risk, said Airlines UK, which represents British
Airways, easyJet and others, the Airport
Operators Association and the UK aerospace trade body ADS.
Britain's current lockdowns ban most international travel.
Flight volumes in the UK are down 80% compared to 2019 and over
45,000 jobs have already been lost in the sector, with more
threatened, the groups said.
New rules Britain introduced on Monday, which require a
negative pre-departure test for travellers plus a period of
quarantine on arrival, are a further blow they warned.
The government needs to plan to re-introduce some
quarantine-free travel and a cheaper testing regime to aid the
aviation recovery once vaccines are rolled out, they said.
"To achieve a strong overall economic recovery from this
crisis the UK must sustain aviation and aerospace industries
that connect us to global trading partners and provide vital
jobs in every part of the country," ADS Chief Executive Paul
Everitt said in a statement.
Britain's government said on Saturday it would give
financial aid to airports before the end of March.
The country's aviation industry has repeatedly asked the
government for help during the crisis but has to date primarily
only benefited from support schemes available to all industries.
(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
