Friday 22 May 2020

Dear AOA Member,

The Home Secretary announced further details to the quarantine proposals today. As I say in our press response, we’re disappointed that the Government is continuing with this blanket approach, instead of a targeted approach like air bridges. It is particularly disappointing to see that the Home Office press release refers to industry engagement, when we have had none. We’ll be following this up in Parliament and will be doing media interviews over the coming days, outlining the urgency of moving to a more targeted approach as soon as possible.

This morning, we had a briefing with MPs and Peers, which was a useful session. Quite a few of the questions focused on the detail of the proposed quarantine measures and the likely impacts they would have on airports and routes, including the seemingly shelved Regional Air Connectivity Review. There were a number of other questions regarding international comparisons (e.g. Greece and Iceland starting back up their tourism industries in the next few weeks). We will be following up with MPs with a number of suggested actions. I also joined a meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Aerospace, with some of the same but also a number of other MPs and Peers, where we covered similar ground.

Finally, a few short updates for you:

• Corporate Governance and Insolvency Bill: as trailed previously, this new Bill has been introduced into Parliament to provide support to businesses facing financial difficulty as a result of Coronavirus, e.g. by introducing a new moratorium to give companies breathing space from their creditors while they seek a rescue. More details here.

• Update on Eligibility for Furlough: the Government has produced an update that clarifies that eligibility depends on employment on or after certain dates.

I hope you all have a relaxing bank holiday weekend.

Best wishes,

Karen Dee
Chief Executive