Ahead of the 17 May restart of international travel, the Airport Operators Association and airport CEOs and Managing Directors have written to the Prime Minister to warn him that the UK’s overly cautious approach puts more than 1.5m jobs at risk.
The letter also sets out the actions the airports sector believes the UK and devolved governments need to take to ensure that the restart from 17 May goes well, particularly around the management of the border. Unacceptable queues have put passenger welfare at risk and urgent action is needed to minimise queues.
Commenting, Airport Operators Association Chief Executive Karen Dee said:
“Airports are deeply concerned that the UK is not capitalising on the success of its vaccine rollout and instead taking an overly cautious approach to restarting international travel.
“Our letter highlights what the consequences of a disappointing summer season could be for the more than 1.5m jobs in the aviation and tourism industries.
“We call on the UK and devolved governments to ensure a more meaningful restart is possible. This includes action on improving the border to reduce the unacceptable queues, moving from expensive PCR tests for green countries to more affordable lateral flow tests and easing restrictions for vaccinated travellers, as the EU and the US are planning.”
ENDS
