UK aviation needs govt support for new lockdown pain -airport boss

LONDON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Britain's airports and airlines
need urgent support to survive the "very bleak future" posed by
a new lockdown in England, warned the boss of one of the
country's biggest airport groups.

Very low levels of travel in recent months have put airlines
and airports under renewed financial strain after they were
effectively shut during Britain's first lockdown, and they now
face another month without income during its second.

"An urgent package of support must materialise," said
Manchester Airport Group's (MAG) chief executive Charlie Cornish
in a statement on Monday.

He said the new lockdown for England, due to start on
Thursday and which bans international leisure travel, will make
parts of the aviation sector unsustainable.

Before the pandemic, Britain had a thriving aviation sector.
Air transport and related supply chain activity plus tourist
arrivals supported 1.6 million jobs and accounted for 4.5% of UK
GDP according to an IATA study.

But more than 20,000 jobs have now been lost at UK airlines
like British Airways and easyJet, and Heathrow,
once the busiest airport in Europe, has lost its crown to Paris.

Industry executives blame the UK government's 14-day
quarantine rules, and the comparatively slow adoption of
allowing testing to replace the need for isolation, for
exacerbating the pain.

Industry bodies Airlines UK and the Airport Operators
Association called on the government to bring in business rates
relief for airports, waive the air passenger duty tax, and
quickly bring in a testing regime to save jobs.

On top of job support schemes, Britain has provided extra
help to train and bus operators and the hospitality sector
during the crisis, but aviation has been ignored say bosses,
despite promises made by the finance minister in March.

"Government has neglected UK aviation and the role it plays
in our economy from day one of this pandemic," said Cornish,
whose MAG owns Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands
airports.

France and Germany have both provided state-backed rescue
packages to help Air France-KLM and Lufthansa
survive the crisis.
(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)