Great Britain: Pressure is mounting on the government to ease travel restrictions

Its airlines and tourist companies Great Britain They are planning an “action day” next Wednesday to escalate pressure on the government to ease travel restrictions, with just a few weeks left before the summer season culminates.

Tourism companies, which are in financial suffocation due to the new coronavirus pandemic, are desperate to avoid another wasted summer due to Covid-19. But with strict UK quarantine regulations still in place, it seems unlikely they will succeed.

With July just around the corner, Ryanair and MAG (Manchester Airports Group), which operates Manchester and Stansted airports in London, filed a lawsuit against the British government last Thursday, demanding more transparency in international travel sanitation.

The lawsuit concerns the opaque manner in which decisions are made, which makes it difficult for travelers to make reservations for their stay and for airlines and airports to schedule a resumption of operations.

On Wednesday 23 June, pilots, cabin crew and travel agents will gather in Westminster, central London, and airports across the UK to try to gather support.

The British aviation industry has been hit hardest by the pandemic than those in European countries, according to data released today by the pilots’ union BALPA.

According to the data, daily arrivals and departures in the UK earlier this month fell by an average of 73% per day, compared to pre-pandemic levels, the largest drop in Europe. In Spain, Greece and France the corresponding reduction was less than 60%.

Airports in the UK have also been hit hard, with traffic in and out of London’s second busiest airport, Gatwick, down 92%, according to the data.

Time is running out for the industry, the union warned.

“There is no time to hide behind action teams and reviews,” said BALPA Secretary-General Brian Stratton.

“BALPA urges the British Government to act effectively and to open the routes to the US and European travel destinations it has excluded without disclosing any evidence.”

More than 45,000 jobs have already been lost in the UK aviation industry, with estimates suggesting that 860,000 jobs in the aviation, travel and tourism sectors are being maintained by unpaid government leave programs alone.

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