With a 14-day quarantine period for passengers arriving into the UK expected to come into force this month, there have been concerns expressed by the travel industry about the economic impact of this decision.
In particular, the aviation sector has been vocal on the need for government support to preserve jobs and save multiple companies from collapse, while still making public health the top priority.
Tim Alderslade, CEO of Airlines UK, commented: ?Public health must of course be the priority and we respect the SAGE advice. We all ? including Government ? need to adapt to the 'new normal' but closing off air travel in this way is not the way to achieve this. Ministers are effectively telling people they can no longer travel for the foreseeable future and airlines will respond to that by grounding their operations ? and that is why they require urgent additional Government support to get through this growing crisis.?
Dale Keller, chief executive of Board of Airlines Representatives UK, said ?The restart and recovery of aviation is an essential component in getting the UK economy moving again. Flying can only recommence in any meaningful way once the 14 day self-isolation requirement is superseded by a carefully coordinated and internationally harmonised approach, incorporating a series of multi-layered and more effective measures that better target and mitigate risk, and provide the confidence that flying is safe.?
Rajeev Shaunak, head of travel and tourism at accountancy firm MHA MacIntyre Hudson, said that the inbound quarantine measures could cost package holiday operators up to ?5 billion this year.
Matt Crate, managing director of WeSwap, a peer-to-peer travel money provider, called for more support from the government to help the travel industry through the period when quarantine is enforced, saying: "This period is the travel industry's busiest time usually, but the COVID-19 crisis has brought the entire sector to a standstill. However, as businesses looked towards the light at the end of the tunnel in the prime minister's speech, the amount of money the new measures could cost may potentially be crippling.
Image credit: Ian L
