English airports could be mothballed

MINISTERS faced renewed demands to support the travel industry yesterday amid plans to mothball airports for a month.

England’s looming lockdown includes a ban on foreign holidays and staycations – described as a ‘ hammer blow’ to an already hard-hit sector. Charlie Cornish, the boss of Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports, said: ‘Tens of thousands of jobs have already been lost... as a result of the situation we find ourselves in. Much of this could have been avoided had the Government followed through on its promise of a targeted support package for our sector.’ Industry figures have called for a string of measures, including the abolition of their business rates and air passenger duty.

Mr Cornish warned that, following the announcement of a second lockdown, airports and airlines ‘need to decide quickly what they must do to secure their future until the situation improves’. Bosses are considering plans to shut some regional airports for the full four weeks.

‘We’ve been told to trust the science throughout this pandemic,’ Mr Cornish said. ‘But none of these decisions – including the latest hammer blow delivered over the weekend – appear to have a clear scientific rationale.’