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* UK set to introduce quarantine on international arrivals
* 14-day quarantine seen introduced at end of the month
* Aviation industry warns will need more government help
* BA owner says has exhausted avenues to boost finances
(Adds additional Walsh comments)
By Sarah Young
LONDON, May 11 (Reuters) - British Airways owner IAG
has exhausted every avenue to shore up its finances and
is burning through cash, its CEO said on Monday, as the aviation
industry warned of the fresh damage it would suffer if Britain
quarantines international arrivals.
Willie Walsh told parliament's transport committee IAG would
have to review plans to resume flying in July if the government
pressed ahead with plans to introduce a quarantine on most
people coming into the country by air as part of measures to
prevent a second peak of the coronavirus pandemic.
While Walsh said IAG was not in a position where it had to
ask for a specific bailout from the government, he added the
quarantine plan would add to the pressure on the group.
"We've probably exhausted every avenue that I can think of
at this stage to shore up our liquidity. The cash has been
reducing significantly and that will be the case as we go
through May, June and July," he said.
"The announcements yesterday of a 14-day period (of
quarantine) for coming into the UK, it's definitely going to
make it worse," he said, forecasting demand for "minimal"
capacity under such rules.
Questioned by UK lawmakers over a British Airways plan to
lay off up to 12,000 people, or 30% of its workforce, Walsh told
lawmakers that aviation was facing the deepest crisis in its
history.
"The industry has changed and anybody who believes that
we're going back to the way things were in 2019 misunderstands
the scale of the challenge that is being faced," he said.
He suggested job losses could follow at IAG's other
airlines, Iberia and Vueling in Spain and Ireland's Aer Lingus,
saying that Iberia management would be doing "everything they
possibly can to right-size Iberia".
Global aviation is facing a battle to survive, with most
flights grounded since March due to travel restrictions to
contain the pandemic.
Britain's new quarantine rules risk derailing any recovery
for UK-based airlines, and the industry urged the government to
come up with an alternative plan.
Heathrow Airport, which during normal times is Europe's
busiest airport but saw passenger numbers plunge 97% in April,
called for common international standards to enable passengers
to travel freely between low risk counties once the virus is
under control.
That would allow borders to be re-opened, it said.
Meanwhile, budget airline easyJet said any
quarantine requirements must be short-lived and replaced by a
targeted regime allowing low-risk passengers to travel easily.
Walsh said that IAG was working with regulators to implement
a common system across Europe of measures to be taken at
airports and onboard aircraft to stop the disease spreading.
He said that he believed the European Union Aviation Safety
Agency (EASA) would publish a draft document on safety measures
later this week.
CALLS FOR CLARITY
Airlines UK, which represents British Airways, easyJet and
other UK carriers, said quarantine measures would lead to the
industry requiring additional government support.
The industry body has already asked for Britain's job
retention scheme to be extended beyond June, and requested a
temporary suspension of some taxes airlines pay, such as air
passenger duty.
Bosses complained there was lack of clarity over how long
the new rules would last and how often they would be reviewed.
"It's inevitable that consumers will be confused by the
message, they will not be certain as to when they should book
their holidays," Manchester Airports Group Chief Executive
Charlie Cornish told BBC television.
Some destinations will be at an advantage, as travellers
from France will be exempt from the quarantine rules, while
airlines said the new rules wouldn't be applied to arrivals from
Ireland.
Britain's foreign minister Dominic Raab told BBC Radio there
would be exemptions from the rules but did not give details. He
said the government was aiming to bring in the quarantine from
the end of the month.
Critics have asked why it was not brought in sooner and how
it will be put into practise, given passengers could fly to
France and then cross into Britain via ferry or train.
(Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Mark Potter, Kirsten
Donovan)
