UK. Heathrow Airport today reported that passenger traffic fell by -89% year-on-year in January as the national lockdown, travel bans, blanket quarantine and compulsory testing deterred people from travelling.
The airport company said that the additional inconvenience and cost of quarantine hotels, day2/day 8 testing requirements on top of other measures “mean that the UK’s borders are effectively closed”.
Heathrow called on government to outline a “flight plan” for reopening of UK borders. It also urged targeted support to ensure the aviation sector can survive the crisis.
Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said: “We support the government in measures required to protect public health. But these additional requirements are essentially a border closure. That will inevitably delay the country’s recovery and hurt the UK’s supply chains. We need to see the flight plan for the safe restart of international travel as part of the Prime Minister’s roadmap on 22 February.
“We also need to preserve our vital aviation infrastructure to support economic recovery when it comes and make Global Britain a reality. That means the Chancellor must use next month’s budget to deliver the minimum help that aviation needs with 100% business rates relief and an extension of the furlough scheme.”
