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(Recasts with PM Johnson's comments)
LONDON, March 25 (Reuters) - Britain is continuing talks
with the aviation industry about how best to support the sector,
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and a pilots' union said on
Wednesday, reviving the prospect of a sector-specific support
package that had seemed to be on hold.
Finance minister Rishi Sunak had told airlines in a letter
on Tuesday that state investment to help them survive the
coronavirus crisis will only be considered once they have looked
at the possibility of raising capital from existing investors.
The letter appeared to freeze any prospect of a special
assistance package for aviation, which has been hard-hit by
curbs in travel.
But asked whether the government had abandoned the sector,
Johnson told parliament that discussions with the aviation
sector were ongoing, adding that airlines could also access loan
support schemes announced for businesses already.
"We have certainly not washed our hands of any sector of UK
business or industry. We are in regular contact with the
aviation sector, doing everything that we can to help," he told
lawmakers.
"There are ... contacts going on as we speak," he added.
UK airlines such as easyJet, IAG-owned
British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have almost no revenue
coming in after demand for air travel came to a standstill,
forcing them to ground hundreds of planes and putting thousands
of jobs and the future of the sector at risk.
The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) said on
Wednesday the suggestion that the government would not provide
financial backing for airlines was misleading.
It said discussions about unique measures for individual
airlines were ongoing and called on the government to protect
jobs in the sector.
"It is unhelpful that correspondence is leaked out of the
context of discussions. It gives rise to the erroneous
conclusion that there is no chance of any government help for UK
airlines. I've said before that there is no 'one size fits all'
solution," BALPA General Secretary Brian Strutton said.
"The government will be looking at areas such as the
airline's financial state, whether it could raise the cash in
other ways, or if it's crucial to the UK transport system. These
deliberations still are ongoing so we should await the
outcomes."
(Reporting by Alistair Smout and Kylie MacLellan; editing by
Kate Holton and Stephen Addison)
