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LONDON (Reuters) – UK airports have called for urgent government support and an airline industry representative said the industry was heading for a ‘very difficult’ situation after Britain tightened its COVID rules 19 for international travelers Friday.
At 4:00 GMT on Monday, all travelers to Britain must have a recent negative COVID-19 test and be quarantined at home for 10 days upon arrival, unless they test negative a second time five days after their arrival.
Tim Alderslade, chief executive of industry body Airlines UK, said the first three months of the year were generally a slow time for the industry, but called for plans to ease the rules during the peak period of the year. spring and summer.
“Easter is a date we have in mind when we can start having an aviation sector again. If we don’t start generating income in the sector, we will indeed be in a very difficult situation, ”he told BBC radio.
“The airlines have stayed in business by incurring billions of pounds of debt that will need to be paid off,” he added.
Britain’s current lockdowns ban most international travel, which means airline schedules are currently minimal, but the withdrawal of all travel without a quarantine from Monday will be another blow to the industry.
The latest restrictions were prompted in part by a third wave of the disease which has caused a record daily death toll in Britain, as well as concerns over a new variant of the coronavirus discovered in Brazil.
Karen Dee, chief executive of the British Association of Airport Operators, said the government needs to move beyond existing support which includes a temporary exemption from local property taxes.
“The UK and decentralized governments (for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) now need to urgently define how they will support airports through this worsening crisis,” he said. she declared.
Reducing the costs of regulation, policing and air traffic control would help, she added.
Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Frances Kerry
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