We’re all going on a summer holiday... You sure about that?
THERE are more than 100 flights scheduled to leave Irish airports today. Flights that go out come back, so in theory thousands of people could fly in on the return journeys. Is that what we really want at present?
The availability of flights is not necessarily driven by demand, and the supply from the airlines is designed to encourage paying passengers. Health and commerce are going to come into further conflict in the coming weeks – with the Government caught in the middle as it seeks to balance legitimate competing interests – and taking a foreign holiday is going to cause many rows.
The Irish summer is an impediment to the fight against Covid-19. Too many people want to escape it. Encouraging us to holiday at home – if finances allow it – is one thing but many are used to topping up their vitamin D reserves annually in cheaper foreign climes.
Many want to make a break almost as a reward for ‘surviving’ lockdown. With that could come great danger on their return. Dr Tony Holohan has hogged the headlines in recent days, not only that people should not book foreign holidays, but those who have already done so should not travel.
But this is merely his opinion and he cannot stop people from going. That would require Government intervention.
Burden
The Government is merely asking those returning (or coming to the country) to isolate for two weeks, a matter of trust that could easily be abused. Is someone who is willing to take the risk of going abroad likely to lock themself into the bedroom for two weeks after coming back? If the advice on mandatory face masks on public transport is not being enforced, how would this more onerous burden be?
Holohan’s medical thinking is sound – foreign travel increases the risk of re-importing the largely contained Covid-19 illness – but that doesn’t make it popular with those who want to travel. Non-travel could result in a big financial loss for many people and not all can readily afford to write off their committed expense. Holohan can reply that the costs of illness to the victims and the State are far higher. Travel agents are proposing that the Government foot the bill for cancelling such travel, to add to its already mounting costs. The chances of that seem slim but it might be a good investment in cases where passengers can’t transfer their flights, at no extra cost, to a later date.
The airline industry, however, would not want that. It wants people flying into and out of Ireland as soon as possible so it can start generating revenue. Irish airlines and airports have engaged in massive pay cuts and lay-offs and the situation is likely to get worse if revenues are not even partially restored. There is a cash haemorrhage as expensive aircraft remain in storage.
There are good arguments that an island nation such as ours, which has flourished because of aviation links, needs to return to normal airline services as quickly as possible. The rest of the EU may be confused by how we are taking more of a British approach to this matter, however, with a list of planned ‘air-bridges’ (countries from where we will accept passengers without requiring the quarantine) to be published next week.
The rest of the EU has no such rules and is allowing flights to come in from 13 outside states (but not the US or China) reckoned to have Covid-19 under control. It may cause problems if we put fellow members outside our ‘air-bridge’ list, and will definitely do so if we include the UK, given it has a higher Covid19 death toll per head of population than any EU country.
The uncertainty hasn’t stopped many booking in anticipation of the self-isolation rule being lifted for many countries after July 9. It hasn’t stopped airlines marketing aggressively either. As I was writing this, an email flashed on my screen from Aer Lingus, asking if it was ‘time to get away’ and suggesting I ‘catch that summer sun from €39’. Ryanair is similarly busy. I can understand why airline bosses want to flog tickets to raise cash. But the industry is on shaky ground when it disputes the medicine and science with the experts, as Michael O’Leary has done. There are good reasons why customers should have concerns about their safety in airports and on airplanes, even before they worry about the Covid-19 status of the country they’re visiting.
Scared
However, the airlines could point out that Holohan and his public health peers have no real appreciation of the economic needs, especially when they are paid out of the public purse. Their jobs are not at risk and there is no prospect of salary cuts. Tens of thousands in the airline sector are scared about more than Covid-19. Personal financial crises can create their own health issues too. The sector can point to the ability of British tourists to arrive by ferry or via the North… and then ignore the self-isolation requests.
The balance may be tipped in Holohan’s direction, however, by the appointment of Green Party leader Eamon Ryan as the new Minister for Transport.
The Greens are perceived by the industry as anti-aviation. Ryan has gone to great lengths in interviews I’ve conducted with him over the last week to emphasise that he realises the importance of connectivity for this island’s economy.
He is not anti-aviation, he has insisted. B/ut it should be remembered that the Greens have long advocated reducing carbon footprints by doing things such as holidaying at home and flying less often. He also told me that the health concerns should take precedence over the economic welfare of the aviation industry. His is going to be just one voice at Cabinet, but if you have foreign summer holiday plans they may