The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) has called on the
Government to take urgent action in next week’s budget to help
the vital aviation industry through what is likely to be an
extremely difficult summer.
Coronavirus is having a massive impact on forward bookings and
was undoubtedly a factor in Flybe’s collapse this week. The
global airline trade body, IATA, is predicting a 24% reduction in
demand for flights in the UK and Western Europe, which could lead
to the collapse of other airlines, putting more pressure on both
regional and the national economies. A number of airlines such as
BA, easyJet, Norwegian and Ryanair have already started
cancelling flights or issuing warnings about the impact of
coronavirus on their revenues and profits.
BALPA General Secretary, Brian Strutton, said: “Air Passenger
Duty is already a huge burden on the UK aviation industry costing
the airlines £3.7bn per year, and is by far the highest in
Europe.
“Right now there is a strong case for the Government to suspend
APD for the next six months, and make significant reductions in
the longer-term to help this struggling industry.
“Demand is down so much over the summer that we could easily see
more airlines collapse without Government action, and that would
have a significant knock-on effect to the economy.
“The Government’s u-turn on the support it promised was the main
reason that Flybe collapsed this week. Unless the Government
wishes to see yet other UK airlines go under we must see some
action from the Treasury.”
