Commenting on Prime Minister’s statement to Parliament outlining the UK Government’s approach to easing COVID-19 restrictions in England, Airport Operators Association Chief Executive Karen Dee said:
“The Prime Minister’s recognition of aviation’s important economic role, in particular for businesses that rely on access to international markets or visitors to the UK, was welcome.
“Airports look forward to working with the successor to the Global Travel Taskforce to ensure we have a robust system in place to safely restart international aviation. We will be able to build on the significant work already undertaken by the aviation industry on possible scenarios for reopening.
“It is of vital importance that the UK Government includes the devolved governments in this work. A divergent approach in the four UK nations will undermine airports’ abilities to attract airlines to reopen routes, undermine public confidence in the new system and thus harm the overall recovery of our sector.
“The UK Government has stated that international travel restrictions will not ease before 17 May. As the worst-hit economic sector in 2020, this will ensure we will also be the worst-hit sector of 2021. The UK and devolved governments must set out sector-specific support to help ensure there are viable airports to be able to restart.”
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