Heathrow CEO: UK government leaves aviation sector out in the cold

Heathrow CEO, John Holland-Kaye, said: “Aviation is the lifeblood of the UK’s economy, critical for exports of goods and services and imports of vaccines, as well as inbound tourism, students and foreign direct investment. Lack of Government action is weakening our sector, making it harder for us to support the eventual economic recovery and help deliver the Prime Minister’s vision of a global Britain.”

• Heathrow’s traffic down 82% YoY in October – the eighth consecutive month of catastrophic decline, with the current travel ban, November is likely to be even worse.
• Long-haul and critical markets for trade suffered the worst declines due to the Government’s debilitating quarantine requirements. The airport’s overall cargo volumes were down 23% compared to last year. North America the UK’s biggest export market has been hardest hit by the downturn.
• UK’s aviation industry is essential to the supply chain of temperature-sensitive, time-critical goods like vaccines – 41% of the UK’s pharmaceutical supplies are imported via Heathrow alone.
• Heathrow is offering Oxford LAMP rapid COVID-19 tests to passengers travelling to other countries, but these are not yet approved for UK arrivals
• The lack of a testing regime has left British airports unable to compete with EU rivals, the refusal to offer English and Welsh airports business rates relief runs the risk of worsening an already challenging situation and the plans to end VAT-free shopping threatens to kick our industry when its down.