DEATH OF AVIATION
Portugal added to quarantine list as airport bosses warn of ‘dark days ahead’ for industry
FRUSTRATED airport bosses have accused Ministers of “overseeing the demise of UK aviation” and warned of “incredibly dark days ahead” for the industry.
Edinburgh Airport chief executive Gordon Dewar and Derek Provan, chief executive of ASG airports which runs Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southampton, have criticised government handling of the coronavirus crisis.
Their warnings came as it was announced that passengers arriving into Scotland from Portugal will have to self isolate for two weeks as of Saturday.
Scottish Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf tweeted yesterday: “If arriving into Scotland from Portugal or French Polynesia from 4am on Saturday, September 5, you’ll have to self-isolate for 14 days.
“Gibraltar (is) high up our watch list of countries we are monitoring closely.
“This week’s data shows increase in test positivity and cases per 100k in
Portugal.” Leading figures in the aviation sector have called for airport testing so passengers can leave quarantine early and to encourage other travellers to start flying again.
Dewar said the Scottish Government’s policies were “ineffective and unworkable” and warned of major blows to the industry.
He said making 250 airport staff redundant was one of the “toughest experiences” of his life and is worried businesses may not return to Scotland.
In an open letter to justice secretary Humza Yousaf, Dewar said the Government has ignored requests for discussions. It comes as
Provan said job losses in the sector were worse than the coal industry suffered in the 80s and that the Government was “overseeing the demise of UK aviation”.
In his letter, Dewar wrote: “No one in aviation has advocated trading lives for the economy, and it is unhelpful to be using anyone’s loss to make a political point that sidesteps or ignores our open request for engagement in seeking better policies.
“A quarantine policy that is a travel ban in all but name makes this incredibly difficult, if not impossible.
“It is ineffective and unworkable as your own figures show and it is having a damning impact on a range of industries.
“If this is the path the Scottish Government is to continue down then there are some incredibly dark days ahead.
“If t he Sc o tt i s h Government position remains as it stands, you are putting tens of thousands of jobs at risk in aviation the next few months alone.”
Heathrow Airport boss John Holland-Kaye earlier called for the Government to stop imposing “quarantine roulette” on travellers, as he announced the airport had a pre- tax loss of £1.1billion in the first six months of the year in July.
The airport has since unveiled a Covid-19 testing programme it says could enable passengers arriving from certain countries to exit the mandatory 14-day quarantine period early. The facility has yet to be approved by the UK Government.
Quarantine rules can differ between Scotland, Wales and England.
The Scottish Government has previously said it is “considering carefully” airport testing.
The UK Government Department for Transport said: “While protecting public health remains our priority, we are working closely with experts to keep our approach to quarantine under constant review.”