Up, up and AWAY
Airport bosses call for foreign holidays to restart in May
MANCHESTER Airport bosses are urging the government to commit to restarting foreign holidays from May, as they call for more financial support for the struggling sector.
Managing director Karen Smart has joined bosses from five other Northern hubs in a bid to gain a package of financial help in the Spring budget next week.
Airport leaders are calling for a realistic and cost-effective system that would enable foreign travel to restart in May.
They have written to Boris Johnson urging him to recognise the importance of the aviation sector to his levelling-up and ‘Global Britain’ ambitions.
The letter has been signed by Manchester Airport, Leeds Bradford Airport, Liverpool John Lennon Airport, Doncaster Sheffield Airport, Newcastle International Airport and Carlisle Lake District Airport.
Collectively, the airports saw nearly 50m passengers in 2019, supported more than 200,000 jobs and generated around £14bn for the northern economy.
With passenger numbers plummeting to just five per cent of usual volumes, and with tens of thousands of travel sector jobs already lost, they say the government needs to set out further support while travel remains prohibited.
Bosses are warning that Boris Johnson’s lockdown-easing route map means it will be several months before airports start seeing normal levels of passenger demand.
Until the Government’s Global Travel Task Force publishes its review on April 12, there remains uncertainty over whether the May 17 restart date is possible.
Karen Smart said: “It is clear for all to see the havoc the pandemic has wreaked on our sector, with tens of thousands of jobs lost already.
“While this week’s recovery plan from the Prime Minister includes a welcome target for the reopening of our industry, there is still much uncertainty over what this will mean in practice and it could still be many months before our airports begin welcoming passengers back through their doors.
“With airports across the north still facing uncertainty and difficult decisions over the coming months, it is absolutely critical that the Chancellor recognises the unique impact the pandemic continues to have on aviation when setting out his budget next week.”
Airport bosses are calling for relief from fixed costs paid to the government, and a sector-specific extension of the furlough scheme to help the hundreds of thousands of jobs propped up by the industry. Tens of thousands of jobs across the UK face falling off the cliff edge unless furlough for this industry is extended post April, they warned. Leaders have also asked for measures to boost the sector by reducing the cost of travel, including reducing taxes levied on passengers to help stimulate demand as restrictions are eased. “Failure to get this right risks further longlasting damage to the communities our airports serve and the prospects of a full and balanced UK recovery,” Ms Smart added.
“This means supporting northern airports and the vital connectivity they provide. If they don’t, ministers run the risk of damaging the prospects of the Northern economy for years to come.”
Failure to get this right risks further long-lasting damage to the communities our airports serve Karen Smart