Aviation faces its deepest crisis

Britain has always been an outward-looking country. After Brexit, we were told, it would be even more of a global nation – open to the world and primed to trade with its most vibrant economies. None of that is possible without aviation.

Today, this industry faces its deepest crisis. After 16 months of doing our bit to keep people safe with some of the tightest restrictions on movement in peacetime history, we are enduring a second summer without any meaningful certainty and clarity on the rationale behind the Government´s decisions that affect people´s life and businesses ability to support the UK economic recovery.

 Despite a world-beating vaccine roll-out, Britain trails many of its neighbours in translating this into a clear policy that would allow its citizens and businesses to benefit from its success.

 The science has concluded that two vaccine doses are highly effective. Indeed, the government is belatedly recognising the low risks of travel for the 68 per cent of the UK population who are fully vaccinated.

 But words are not enough. If Global Britain is to mean anything, families and businesses need to have certainty in order to confidently book trips abroad and they need the government to set clear, transparent and science-based thresholds for reciprocal arrangements.

Instead, Britain has the most complex and ineffective traffic light system in any country in Europe. It has created huge confusion and uncertainty for the British public. In a recent poll 80 per cent of UK consumers agreed.

No meaningful summer for international travel means fewer jobs, lost connectivity and no support for an industry which millions rely on for their livelihoods.

 In fact, IAG was created from the merger of British Airways and Iberia as a consolidation platform with a long-term approach to investment.

 As an international group, with a portfolio of airlines across Europe, we can also see what is happening elsewhere: the glaring gap between the rhetoric of Britain’s leading vaccine response and the reality of a UK travel industry at breaking point.

 BA has already been practically grounded for more than a year. This has severe consequences. 1.5m British jobs are supported by the aviation industry, accounting for 4.5 per cent of UK GDP and raising £30bn for the Exchequer in Air Passenger Duty over the last 10 years.

It is simply not true to say things will simply bounce back to normal if we just keep staggering on for a few more weeks. We need a clear roadmap and transparency from the UK government to make Britain an attractive place for investment. It´s impossible for any business to plan with this level of volatility.

Pre-pandemic, aviation in the UK was a force with only the US and China being larger markets than Britain. Both the US and China are back up to around 80 per cent of their 2019 traffic. Within Europe reservations have recovered to 50 per cent. The UK is at less than 20 per cent of normal activity.

 The EU, for example, has removed restrictions on non-essential travel from the US which the UK still does not. This means that high spending US tourists are already safely travelling en masse to EU countries, avoiding the UK. Britain is lagging behind the EU.

The UK economy needs aviation. Trade, businesses and jobs rely on connections that cannot be easily replaced when they are gone.

 Put simply, you cannot be Global Britain with a closed border. Businesses will go to countries which lay down the welcome mat, not the ‘no entry’ sign.

 Full article here