Pressure grows for London to New York ‘air corridor’ ... as 1 in 4 jobs are culled at Gatwick
The reopening of the route would help rescue airlines that rely on trans-Atlantic travel.
Proposals are at very early stages. But if they get the goahead, new York could become the UK’s first ‘regional travel corridor’ destination.
This would open the floodgates to winter holidays in America and help thousands of British businesses that rely on US visitors.
Today the boss of the trade body Airlines UK, Tim Alderslade, warns ‘there is no future for international aviation without a comprehensive testing programme’.
GATWICK cut 600 jobs yesterday – one in four of its workforce – as part of a major reshaping of the airport’s business.
It is only operating about a fifth of last year’s flights and over 75 per cent of its staff are on the Government’s furlough scheme.
Elsewhere, Rolls-Royce announced it would close its site in Annesley, Nottinghamshire, weeks after announcing 9,000 aerospace job cuts. Restaurant chain Wahaca is to close ten
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has repeatedly played down the idea of airport testing, claiming swab tests would fail to spot almost 90 per cent of asymptomatic cases.
But in a growing revolt, more than 80 MPs, including 40 Tories, have warned that failure to endorse airport testing will have a
restaurants and BMW announced the loss of 400 jobs at its Mini car factory in Oxford.
Official figures suggest that 730,000 people lost their jobs between March and July.
Experts warn this is the tip of the iceberg as many jobs are being propped up by the furlough scheme, which ends in October.
Economists have warned the number of people out of work could rise to nearly four million by the end of the year.
disastrous impact on the travel industry and wider economy.
Senior aviation bosses, including Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye, say quarantine measures have hung the ‘Closed’ sign on Britain and are costing the economy £60million a day in lost foreign visitor spending.
As well as airport testing, industry leaders are also eager for ministers to establish ‘regional travel corridors’ to low-risk destinations.
in new York, the cumulative number of cases over seven days, a key statistic closely-watched by Downing Street, is at 7.2 per 100,000 residents, lower than the UK on 11.3 and much lower than the Government’s quarantine threshold of 20. Paul Charles, of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said: ‘My clear understanding is that there are initial talks taking place between the Department for Transport and the US Department of Transportation to create corridors between Heathrow and new York, which is the world’s most popular air route.
‘However, i understand that US authorities want to see firm testing taking place at Heathrow.
‘it would send a strong signal if this vital route was to open again, and would build confidence for long-haul travel. it is one of the best things this Government could do for the airline industry.’
it comes amid growing certainty that Switzerland will become the latest country to face quarantine restrictions tonight. The country’s cumulative number of cases over seven days hit 21.2 per 100,000 people yesterday. Jamaica and the Czech Republic are also at risk.