Responding to the Government’s announcement on a traffic light system for the restart of international travel, Airport Operators Association Chief Executive Karen Dee said:
“Despite the success of the UK’s vaccination rollout, the Global Travel Taskforce’s framework offers only a glimmer of hope to an industry battered by more than a year of near-complete shutdown.
“While it is welcome that the new green category does not require quarantine, it is not yet a truly green light to travel. The proposed testing regime will add significant costs that could limit travel possibilities for many and must be regularly reviewed. It is disappointing the Government has not fully accepted the evidence that rapid, more affordable testing can be equally effective.
“The Government has to give industry and consumers sufficient time to prepare for reopening and book travel. Transparent criteria for countries in each travel tier and an indicative green list along with a firm commitment to reopening on 17 May would boost consumer confidence and we urge the Government to publish these shortly.
“As it stands, a meaningful restart of aviation is not yet possible under the new system. This puts the Government’s Global Britain agenda and more than a million jobs supported by aviation and tourism at risk and will require the Chancellor to mitigate the resulting financial impacts.”
ENDS
