AIRLINES UK

Tim Alderslade

The UK is the third most connected country by air in the world and benefits hugely from these ties into the global economy. Some 40% of our non-eu trade is flown, most of it within the bellyhold of passenger aircraft. That’s why the current crisis in UK (and global) aviation caused by the pandemic matters to us all, and not just affected airlines, which in the UK alone have already announced tens of thousands of job cuts.

UK passenger numbers in 2020 will be at levels not seen since before the first Gulf

War, some 30 years ago. Safety must come first, but the reality is we face a stark choice. We can accept significantly reduced connectivity and the economic damage this causes, or we can prioritise smarter ways of using technology and data to get people flying again.

Two areas are key – airport testing, allowing us to move away from lengthy quarantines, and a move towards regional travel corridors, which have the potential to open up markets like New York, where infections rates are much lower than the national picture.

We have the means at our fingertips, we just need the political will.

Chief Executive Airlines UK