Tuesday 2 June 2020

Dear AOA Member,

This morning AOA took part in a call with DfT, Home Office and Border Force regarding the implementation of the quarantine requirement starting next week.  The forms that passengers will have to fill in should be available Thursday.  By now airports should have heard locally from Border Force regarding any requirements regarding them making electronic and paper-based versions of the forms available for those who have not completed them prior to arrival.  Please let the AOA team know if any difficulties arise in these conversations. It is understood that Border Force will adapt the processes for business and general aviation aerodromes.

On the parliamentary side of things, we’re expecting an urgent question in the House of Commons on aviation and COVID-19 tomorrow, as well as the announcement of the details of the quarantine measures to the House. In preparation the AOA has been briefing MPs, as mentioned yesterday and making sure the expected impacts of quarantine are well understood by all stakeholders.

Finally, a few items of note for you:

• The UK Government and the devolved administrations have published their response to the public consultation on the future of UK carbon pricing. The response outlines the proposals for next steps, including the first elements of a UK specific emissions trading scheme, how this will relate to the aviation industry, such as what routes will be included and accounted for, and how the UK scheme will link-in or align with the European ETS and other international initiatives such as CORSIA.
• The International Civil Aviation Organisation published its CART Take-off guidance last night, which I’m sure many of you have already seen. It’s helpful to see where this guidance aligns with existing EASA guidance, and the UK public health guidance for aviation being developed by the Department for Transport.

Best wishes,

Karen Dee
Chief Executive