[ad_1]
The British Airways owner’s chief said the airline’s group will have to review its plans to restart a significant number of flights in July after Boris Johnson said people arriving in the UK would be quarantined.
Willie Walsh, CEO of International Airlines Group, said flights to and from the UK would be “fairly minimal” if the government moves forward with plans to make passengers self-insulate for 14 days upon arrival in the UK.
The aviation industry expressed dismay when the plans were first presented. Johnson confirmed Sunday that air passengers would be quarantined, although it is believed that other forms of transportation will also be included.
Last week, IAG said that BA and its other airlines, Aer Lingus, Iberia and Vueling, intended to run around 1,000 flights per day between July and September, a significant increase between April and May.
However, Walsh said the quarantine would hinder prospects for a recovery in air traffic. The crisis has already led to planned job cuts, including 12,000 at BA, and thousands more are expected on other IAG airlines.
“There is nothing positive about anything I heard the prime minister say yesterday,” Walsh told MPs on the transportation committee on Monday. “We had planned to resume on a fairly significant basis of flying in July. I think we will have to revise that based on what the prime minister said yesterday. “
“I don’t think anybody thought that the UK government would actually implement it [a quarantine requirement] if they were serious about getting the economy moving again, “Walsh added.
Passenger air traffic has already plummeted due to closure restrictions. Heathrow Airport on Monday asked for a roadmap to emerge from the crisis.
Britain’s two largest airports, Heathrow and Gatwick, also criticized the government’s proposals. Heathrow said in a statement that the quarantine plan would close the UK’s borders, causing a further drop in passenger numbers, down to 200,000 in April, the same number that would typically pass through Heathrow in one day.
John Holland-Kaye, chief executive of Heathrow, said: “The government urgently needs to establish a roadmap on how the borders will reopen once the disease has expired, and take immediate initiative to agree on a common international standard for the aviation health that will allow passengers who do not have the infection to travel freely. “
Heads of airlines and tourism have already warned that the quarantine plan would be a “nightmare” for the travel industry if tourists and business travelers were forced to stay in one place for two weeks upon arrival in the UK. .
Heathrow traffic fell 97% in April compared to the same month last year, with UK citizens banned from all essential travel and borders closed in many countries around the world. The few flights that have landed have mainly been repatriation services to bring home the British trapped abroad.
Gatwick also said the government should provide “a clear quarantine exit strategy” and review the policy weekly.
“This proposal runs the risk of decimating air travel and severely restricting the economy’s resilience,” he said.
The decline in passenger numbers has rocked the aviation industry, with tens of thousands of planned job cuts at companies like Ryanair and Virgin Atlantic. Holland-Kaye has already warned that Heathrow may have to make thousands of job cuts if the government doesn’t come up with a clear plan.
Sign up for daily Business Today email or follow Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk
Unlike many other countries, the UK has not imposed any conditions on arrivals from abroad, but Heathrow decided last week to unilaterally monitor passenger temperatures for signs of fever.
EasyJet said Monday that any quarantine restrictions should not last beyond the lockout and should be reviewed regularly.
“The requirements should be reviewed periodically to ensure they are specific and proportionate, and do not unnecessarily limit the important role that air travel will play in the UK’s economic recovery,” said a spokeswoman.
