The UK’s aviation sector is furious. It’s furious at the government’s abandonment of an industry that would ordinarily drive the UK economy. It’s furious at the misinformation surrounding foreign travel being shared by government officials, and it’s furious at the endless media appearances of government ‘housing ministers’ and ‘education secretaries’ warning everyone against international travel, even those who are fully vaccinated.
Week after week, month after month, UK government ministers push the aviation and wider travel sector further into the land of uncertainty, worsening the crisis for an already struggling sector. Even foreign airlines and travel companies have expressed their concern for UK operations, urging the UK to take a more rational approach amid the turbulence.
Travel association ABTA also said it would join British Airways parent company IAG (Qatar Airways is the single largest shareholder), TUI, Virgin Atlantic, Ryanair, the Manchester Airport Group, and others in taking legal action against the UK government.
Last week the always outspoken Ryanair chief executive Michael O' Leary described the government's international travel policy as a "shambles" and announced legal action along with a number of partners.
Airline and travel company leaders continue to hit out at the government for “looking away during its darkest hour”, accusing several ministers of inflicting additional damage on businesses left on the brink by the pandemic.
ABTA estimates that around 195,000 jobs have been lost or are at risk within the UK travel industry, while a survey of members found more than half did not have enough money to survive more than three months in current conditions.
The industry is calling for the existing traffic light system for international travel to be used transparently and consistently. At the moment it’s shrouded in mystery and is perhaps more inconsistent than the chaos of last year, something we didn’t think was possible.
The travel sector wants appropriate exemptions for fully vaccinated passengers, such as to be allowed to travel without quarantine as part of the review of the system due on June 28. Spain, France, United States, Greece, Qatar, South Korea and multiple other nations already make significant exemptions for citizens or travellers who are fully vaccinated.
The UK health secretary, Matt Hancock, said on Tuesday that ministers were “working on” how to end quarantine for fully vaccinated travellers returning from amber list countries.
For airlines, the next few weeks are potentially make or break. With the UK well-into its summer season, international travel is yet to take off, and in fact continues to decline. British Airways, easyJet and other UK based operators have cancelled flights and slashed their schedules amid the worsening crisis.
Meanwhile, France, Spain and other neighbouring nations are now open to fully vaccinated travellers from around the world.
While the UK and United States both share a high vaccination rate, their stance on vaccinated freedoms couldn’t be further from each other.
US airlines and the Transportation Security Administration are currently struggling with staffing as air travel across America has rapidly jumped from its historic low to almost pre-pandemic levels. When air travel came to a halt in March 2020, thousands of employees were offered early retirements and buyouts, but now the airlines are desperate to fill these positions again.
American Airlines has been forced to cancel hundreds of flights amid staffing issues as the demand for air travel surges, and more Americans continue to take flights for leisure, business, and to visit family/friends. It follows the US’ successful vaccination rollout.
American told ABC News that most of the cancellations are on A320 and 737 aircraft, but that it may continue to cancel at least 50 to 60 flights per day for the rest of June and 50 to 80 flights per day through July.
"We made targeted changes with the goal of impacting the fewest number of customers by adjusting flights in markets where we have multiple options for re-accommodation," according to an American Airlines statement.
At one point over the US Memorial Day weekend, Delta Air Lines' automated phone customer service line told customers the wait time to talk with a reservation agent was more than 21 hours.
Meanwhile in the UK, PM Johnson said on Monday that ministers would only now begin to examine how to give more freedom to vaccinated travellers, but warned “this is going to be, whatever happens, a difficult year for travel” with disruption and delays likely to continue.
“The priority has got to be keeping the country safe and to stop the virus coming back in,” he said.
In other news, and in what would be yet another blow to the UK’s aviation sector, British Airways has reportedly launched a review into closing its entire operation at London Gatwick airport as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic, and the ongoing crisis for UK air travel.
BA’s operation at Gatwick predominantly focused on leisure routes, with a wide-ranging mix of both long haul and short haul destinations including several Caribbean destinations, European cities, and far-away island nations such as Mauritius.
The flag carrier, a subsidiary of FTSE 100 firm IAG (owned 25% by Qatar Airways) is now looking into whether to consolidate its operation at Heathrow. Virgin Atlantic has already withdrawn from London Gatwick airport due to the pandemic, as has Norwegian Air, which recently exited a restructuring process.
The author is an aviation analyst. Twitter handle: @AlexInAir
Week after week, month after month, UK government ministers push the aviation and wider travel sector further into the land of uncertainty, worsening the crisis for an already struggling sector. Even foreign airlines and travel companies have expressed their concern for UK operations, urging the UK to take a more rational approach amid the turbulence.
Travel association ABTA also said it would join British Airways parent company IAG (Qatar Airways is the single largest shareholder), TUI, Virgin Atlantic, Ryanair, the Manchester Airport Group, and others in taking legal action against the UK government.
Last week the always outspoken Ryanair chief executive Michael O' Leary described the government's international travel policy as a "shambles" and announced legal action along with a number of partners.
Airline and travel company leaders continue to hit out at the government for “looking away during its darkest hour”, accusing several ministers of inflicting additional damage on businesses left on the brink by the pandemic.
ABTA estimates that around 195,000 jobs have been lost or are at risk within the UK travel industry, while a survey of members found more than half did not have enough money to survive more than three months in current conditions.
The industry is calling for the existing traffic light system for international travel to be used transparently and consistently. At the moment it’s shrouded in mystery and is perhaps more inconsistent than the chaos of last year, something we didn’t think was possible.
The travel sector wants appropriate exemptions for fully vaccinated passengers, such as to be allowed to travel without quarantine as part of the review of the system due on June 28. Spain, France, United States, Greece, Qatar, South Korea and multiple other nations already make significant exemptions for citizens or travellers who are fully vaccinated.
The UK health secretary, Matt Hancock, said on Tuesday that ministers were “working on” how to end quarantine for fully vaccinated travellers returning from amber list countries.
For airlines, the next few weeks are potentially make or break. With the UK well-into its summer season, international travel is yet to take off, and in fact continues to decline. British Airways, easyJet and other UK based operators have cancelled flights and slashed their schedules amid the worsening crisis.
Meanwhile, France, Spain and other neighbouring nations are now open to fully vaccinated travellers from around the world.
While the UK and United States both share a high vaccination rate, their stance on vaccinated freedoms couldn’t be further from each other.
US airlines and the Transportation Security Administration are currently struggling with staffing as air travel across America has rapidly jumped from its historic low to almost pre-pandemic levels. When air travel came to a halt in March 2020, thousands of employees were offered early retirements and buyouts, but now the airlines are desperate to fill these positions again.
American Airlines has been forced to cancel hundreds of flights amid staffing issues as the demand for air travel surges, and more Americans continue to take flights for leisure, business, and to visit family/friends. It follows the US’ successful vaccination rollout.
American told ABC News that most of the cancellations are on A320 and 737 aircraft, but that it may continue to cancel at least 50 to 60 flights per day for the rest of June and 50 to 80 flights per day through July.
"We made targeted changes with the goal of impacting the fewest number of customers by adjusting flights in markets where we have multiple options for re-accommodation," according to an American Airlines statement.
At one point over the US Memorial Day weekend, Delta Air Lines' automated phone customer service line told customers the wait time to talk with a reservation agent was more than 21 hours.
Meanwhile in the UK, PM Johnson said on Monday that ministers would only now begin to examine how to give more freedom to vaccinated travellers, but warned “this is going to be, whatever happens, a difficult year for travel” with disruption and delays likely to continue.
“The priority has got to be keeping the country safe and to stop the virus coming back in,” he said.
In other news, and in what would be yet another blow to the UK’s aviation sector, British Airways has reportedly launched a review into closing its entire operation at London Gatwick airport as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic, and the ongoing crisis for UK air travel.
BA’s operation at Gatwick predominantly focused on leisure routes, with a wide-ranging mix of both long haul and short haul destinations including several Caribbean destinations, European cities, and far-away island nations such as Mauritius.
The flag carrier, a subsidiary of FTSE 100 firm IAG (owned 25% by Qatar Airways) is now looking into whether to consolidate its operation at Heathrow. Virgin Atlantic has already withdrawn from London Gatwick airport due to the pandemic, as has Norwegian Air, which recently exited a restructuring process.
The author is an aviation analyst. Twitter handle: @AlexInAir
