‘We have to assume the worst’
HEATHROW’S CEO WARNS 25,000 JOBS COULD BE LOST AS PASSENGERS ENTERING THE UK ARE FORCED TO QUARANTINE FOR 14 DAYS
HEATHROW Airport’s CEO has warned that as many as 25,000 jobs could be lost due to the new quarantine rules.
Passengers arriving into the UK now have to isolate for 14 days, under official Government guidelines.
All passengers – bar a handful of exemptions – will have to fill out an online locator form giving their contact and travel details, as well as the address of where they will isolate.
People who fail to comply could be fined £1,000 in England and police will be allowed to use “reasonable force” to make sure they follow the rules.
There has been widespread concern that this will cause huge damage to the travel and aviation sectors as they recover from the effects of the pandemic.
Speaking to the City AM podcast, The City View, Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said he was now having to consider job cuts at the West London airport.
He said: “76,000 people are employed at Heathrow.
“That represents one-in-four households in the local community, so if we start cutting jobs on mass that has a devastating impact on local communities, including the Prime Minister’s own constituency, which is only a few miles from the airport.
“What we’ve heard already from the airlines is that they are cutting around a third of all employees, so that would be 25,000 people out of work.
“That would be a devastating blow to west London and the Thames Valley.”
Asked if he would also have to consider the future of a third of his workforce, Mr Holland-Kaye said: “That’s exactly the right kind of number.
“I don’t want to see that happen, but we’ll have to make that decision within the next couple of weeks.”
Mr Holland-Kaye added that those in the industry are “assuming the worst”, with one airport saying it is facing bankruptcy.
He said: “We have to assume the worst and all businesses in aviation are suffering, very badly.
“I heard one airport talk about it being days and not weeks before they face bankruptcy. That’s how bad things have got.
“Airlines are not making redundancies and cutting pay because they want to, it’s because they’re in survival mode.”
Mr Holland-Kaye said the industry needs the government to move quickly and in a “co-ordinated” way to reopen the aviation sector.
He added: “At the moment we’re being held back, and if we aren’t able to get people flying again, that really is going to delay the recovery of the rest of the economy.”