WIREDGOV

A joint statement published yesterday (Monday) by the TUC, aviation unions, Heathrow Airport and Swissport calls on government to work with the aviation industry and its workforce to protect the UK’s vital aviation sector and secure its recovery.

The statement follows a roundtable meeting of representatives of the aviation industry and unions hosted by the TUC on Friday.

Aviation is one of the hardest hit industries by the coronavirus pandemic, with travel restrictions causing demand to fall to just 2% of its usual level.

Thousands of jobs in the sector have already been lost. And it has been estimated by the New Economics Foundation that 124,000 jobs were at risk across aviation and the industries it supports.

The statement, published in full below, calls for Treasury funding to help the industry survive until pre-pandemic levels of travel are safe again.

It calls for the Department for Health and Social Care to provide a testing framework that will help with the safe lifting of quarantine requirements, along with support for aviation employers and unions on the development of requirements and standards for safely re-opening.

And it calls for the Department for Transport to establish a tripartite body of government, trade unions and industry to guide aviation into recovery and beyond.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady yesterday said:

“Aviation is a vital sector. We can’t have a full UK recovery if we don’t have a full aviation recovery. But too many jobs in the industry have been lost already. And we lack a clear and realistic plan from government to protect aviation workers and businesses until they can safely operate at full capacity again. We hope the government will agree to get a group set up so that we can plan a full recovery and strong future for aviation together.”

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye yesterday said:

“Aviation has been an engine for creating high-quality skilled jobs and will serve as an important catalyst for economic prosperity post-COVID. However, the continued lack of targeted support threatens both the viability of thousands of jobs and this Government’s own vision of a Global Britain. While we welcome the launch of the Global Travel Taskforce and will work closely with the group to ensure the safe restart of international travel, our sector has been effectively shut down for almost a year with minimal support. Ministerial action is long overdue, and our leaders must act now to protect livelihoods by providing sufficient financial support and delivering an effective restart plan that safeguards the progress made in the fight against this virus.”