Future of the
aviation and aerospace industry
The petition of residents of Glasgow North,
Declares that job losses at British Airways,
Rolls-Royce and across the aviation and
aerospace industry will be a devastating blow to employees of
these firms and will cause major economic damage to the whole of
the UK; supports the early intervention by the Scottish
Government in removing the business rates liability for one year
and urges the UK Government to follow suit.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges
the Government to secure a sustainable future for the aviation
industry, to ensure that urgent discussions take place between
relevant ministers and these firms to protect the maximum number
of jobs, and to ensure that workers play a full role in the
decisions being taken about this industry.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by , Official Report, 21 July 2020; Vol. 678, c. 2119.]
[P002590]
Observations from the Under-Secretary of State for Transport
():
The Government recognise the challenging times facing the
aviation sector as a result of covid-19. Aviation plays a
critical role to our future as a global trading nation and for
local economies such as that in the constituency of Glasgow
North. Additionally, we recognise that this will be a very
distressing time for employees of British Airways,
Rolls-Royce and across the aviation and
aerospace industry, as well as for their families and for local
communities that are supported by the industry.
The aviation sector is able to draw upon the unprecedented
package of measures announced by the Chancellor, including a Bank
of England scheme for firms to raise capital, Time to Pay
flexibilities with tax bills, financial support for employees and
VAT deferrals. These measures have been designed to ensure that
companies of any size receive the help they need to get through
this difficult time—airports, airlines and the wider supply
chain.
We have kept an open dialogue with the aviation and aerospace
sectors with regular structured engagement from the start of the
pandemic with unions and industry bodies such as ADS, Airport
Operators Association and Airlines UK as well as with individual
airlines, airports, ground handlers and manufacturers. We are
also acutely aware of the impact on the aviation workforce and we
are actively working with unions and industry to make sure we
identify opportunities to retain key skills within the industry,
or ensure they are able to find new employment or retrain and
upskill as necessary.
The Department for Transport has established a Restart and
Recovery unit to work directly with the sector, initially
focusing on the immediate practicalities of restarting the sector
and setting a clear vision and objectives looking forward to the
longer-term recovery phase. This work has been guided by the
International Aviation Taskforce’s Expert Steering Group, a
collaborative working group with representation from across
industry and Government, including the devolved Administrations.
Through this group we have developed safer travel guidance for
operators and passengers, published on 11 June 2020. The Expert
Steering Group has also recently established subgroups which
bring together expert parties to consider urgently how specific
measures could address the exceptional short-term sector
financial challenges facing the industry in the context of latest
trends and outlook.
