UK’S TOP BOSSES: WE ARE CRASH LANDING

They’re desperate for airport Covid checks Quarantine rules costing £650m a week ... and Virgin axes ANOTHER 1,150 jobs

A STRING of business leaders yesterday issued dire warnings about the disastrous economic consequences of failing to get Britain flying again.

Rolls-Royce, which makes and services engines for airlines around the world, threw its weight behind the campaign to bring in an airport Covid testing regime.

Experts said quarantine rules for travellers coming to Britain are costing the tourism industry £650million a week.

It came as Virgin Atlantic announced it would cut another 1,150 jobs in a further blow to the aviation sector.

Industry leaders, airlines and airports have warned the economy will nose dive until crippling 14-day quarantines can be eliminated and passengers can move smoothly through borders.

Meanwhile, leading American businesses and airlines have called on UK ministers to take action to introduce airport testing to open up transatlantic travel.

Airlines and aircraft manufacturers have suffered huge losses after lockdown restrictions to stem the spread of coronavirus brought global air travel almost to a standstill for several months.

Rolls- Royce chief executive Warren East said increasing air travel would be crucial to preserving thousands of jobs in the UK’s world-leading aerospace manufacturing industry.

Mr East said: ‘Aviation has a vital role to play in helping the world recover from the pandemic. But this is not only about reconnecting people, trade and tourism.

‘The aerospace industry employs tens of thousands in the UK and generates revenue and intellectual property for the country. Getting people flying again needs to be a high priority for the Government.’

Rolls-Royce has been forced to axe 9,000 staff – nearly one in five workers – and to raise £2billion by selling off parts of its business as it struggles to survive the crisis.

Paul Everitt, the chief executive of aerospace and defence industry body ADS, said companies could halt job cuts and keep staff on their books if there was greater demand for flights. Britain’s aerospace and defence industry employs around 250,000, both directly and in the wider supply chain. Some 60,000 of these are either on furlough or at risk of redundancy, according to ADS.

Mr Everitt said: ‘If we at least had the confidence that there would be a growing number of air passengers and if we had a testing regime to build back that passenger base, then we would know we had reached the bottom and would start rising back up.’ The quarantine measures have also damaged the UK’s hospitality and in-bound tourism sectors.

According to the latest estimates from Visit Britain, the number of foreign visitors has dropped by 73 per cent compared with last year – a loss of 31million tourists. Spending by visitors was down by 79 per cent, equal to £24billion.

Virgin Atlantic said yesterday it would be forced to make more

sweeping cuts despite secur securing a £1.2billion rescue deal that will keep it going for the next 18 months.

It had already laid off 3,500 employees out of the 10,000strong workforce it had at the beginning of the year and shut its base at Gatwick.

Virgin, alongside other groups including Heathrow Airport and Airlines UK, has urged the US and UK governments ments to launch a passenger testing trial for flights between New York and London by the end of the month.

At the moment Britons cannot enter the US directly from the UK, and those travelling from the US to the UK must self- isolate for two weeks when they arrive.

Industry bodies British American Business (BAB), which represents top US and

UK banks and businesses businesses, and Airlines for America, whose members include all the major US airlines, said testing was the only way to reopen transatlantic travel.

BAB chief executive Duncan Edwards said: ‘Covid-19 testing before departure or at airports will be an effective risk mitigation measure for destinations considered to be at higher risk.’