Labours writes to the Government to urge greater support for the aviation industry

Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, Jim McMahon MP, has written to Grant Shapps ahead of a visit to Heathrow urging that greater government support for the aviation sector is needed.

Writing a week after Portugal’s removal from the ‘green list’ Jim McMahon also writes to call for ministers to not ‘just publish the criteria surrounding how you’ll make decisions but also the analysis of the data you measured that criteria against.’

Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, Jim McMahon MP, said:

“It will take a long time for the aviation industry to recover from the impact of the virus, while the need for some travel restrictions to contain the virus show no sign of ending anytime soon. Yet ministers have failed to provide a strategic approach to managing our borders and turned their back on the aviation sector at a crucial time.

“Labour has consistently called for a sectoral deal that supports the whole aviation industry including securing jobs and protecting the supply chain, while continuing to press for higher environmental standards.”

Ends

Notes to Editors

Full copy of the letter to the Transport Secretary:

Dear Grant,

I am again writing to you regarding the future of the aviation industry in light of Portugal’s removal from the green list and the clear need for significant travel restrictions to remain in place for some time.

Everyone is keen to see international travel return as soon as possible, but safety must come first. Which is why a strategic approach and clarity from government is so vital. The current chaotic system this government has overseen has resulted in mass confusion over the ‘amber list’, with ministers giving wildly conflicting advice. This has been gravely damaging for consumer and business confidence. While for consumers, most holiday insurance no longer fully covering trips which could be cancelled due to Covid and family budgets being squeezed more tightly than ever.

We can’t continue to see a repeat of this lack of strategy resulting in travellers being forced to change their plans at moment’s notice.

Can I urge you not just publish the criteria surrounding how you’ll make decisions but also the analysis of the data you measured that criteria against?

Also the U.K government must, without further delay, scrap the amber list and provide clarity to the system rather than the dangerous mixed messages over ‘essential travel’.

It has long been clear that the necessary restrictions to international travel would have a severe impact on the tourism and transport sector. As you, have said, “the aviation sector is suffering extraordinarily tough times.”

I have written the following in many letters to you before but as you’ll know the covid-19 crisis has already had a devastating impact on the whole aviation industry, which contributes £22 billion and 267,000 direct jobs and a further 1.5 million employed through the supply chain. The UK is home to the largest aviation sector in Europe and the third largest in the world.

You will have seen that a number of airlines and airport operators have announced further plans to make a significant percentage of their workforce redundant. The expectation is without a summer season and without government support there is the potential for a number of major companies in the industry to cease operating.

As we’ve discussed, I know you share my view that aviation remains a critical part of the UK economy. Yet a year ago the chancellor promised an aviation sectoral deal. It has still not materialised. We should not forget that the government’s stated ambition to ‘level up’ our regions will be dealt a significant blow if such an important sector is allowed to go unsupported.

The current situation is delivering the worst of both worlds. International travel is so reduced as to place the aviation sector in dire risk, unless promised government support is delivered. Yet lax border controls and government confusion mean that we are not even successfully protecting our boarders against threats from emerging variants, as the delta variant outbreak shows.

So it is clear that calls for a support package are ever more urgent. You know labour has consistently called for a sectoral deal that supports the whole aviation industry including securing jobs and protecting the supply chain, while continuing to press for higher environmental standards.

The aviation sector must become environmentally sustainable, but to protect against short term unemployment and to help stimulate that change, the government must take action now to ensure that long term needs are met. Even as we transition to a green economy, protecting jobs now, so they can be reskilled for the future economy, is critical. It is far easier to transition our aviation sector to become greener from a point of strength than weakness.

Yours sincerely,

Jim