Aviation industry comes together in protest over government policy

Aviation organisations from all parts of the industry will join together at a demonstration at Manchester Airport today (June 23) as part of an urgent call for the Government to take action to help the industry survive the pandemic.

The strictly socially distanced protest, which has been organised by Unite, the UK’s aviation union, in conjunction with Manchester Airports Group, will also include representatives of pilots’ union BALPA, the North West TUC, the Business Travel Association, Clarity Business Travel and other aviation organisations still to be confirmed.

Andrew Western, the leader of Trafford Council, will also be in attendance at the demonstration set to begin at 12.30pm at the airport’s Terminal 3 building.

The Manchester Airport demonstration is being held to coincide with a lobby of Parliament being organised by trade association Airlines UK and there are also similar protests being held in Belfast and Edinburgh, with virtual protests in Cardiff.

Aviation says it has been more affected that any other sector of the economy since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the rest of the economy is slowly emerging from lockdown and ensuring that workers can return to the workplace, the aviation industry is currently placing even greater numbers of staff on furlough, as a direct result of government policies.

With the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) due to finish at the end of September, there is a growing concern that the aviation sector is facing a cliff edge and unless urgent action is taken, huge job losses are inevitable.

Unite is calling on the Government to act to introduce three policies which will dramatically improve the industry’s prospects:

• Transparency – in the Government’s traffic light scheme so that the industry can better understand how the criteria is being applied to the data in ministerial decision making
• Logistics – when aviation does open up, funding/resources is needed to avoid operational challenges. For example, how long queues at check in while passengers are showing their proof of vaccination and test results can be avoided, and how big queues at arrivals and the prospect of mixing passengers from different countries will be dealt with
• CJRS – sector specific extension so that aviation can survive an increasingly bleak looking summer and autumn and still exist into 2022 without more redundancies, pay cuts and even company collapses.

Unite regional officer, Mike Gaskill, said: “Aviation workers at Manchester and across the UK are crying out for government support and assistance.

“The sector is in an even deeper crisis as a direct result of government policy.

“The recent decisions about the traffic light system have destroyed any chance of a successful summer season, the time when the sector makes its profits.”

He added: “Unless the Government takes immediate action then it is inevitable that there will be further large scale job losses, route closures and even company collapses.

“Aviation is essential for the long term financial success of the UK economy, but in order for a viable sector to survive it has to receive short and medium term support from the Government.”

As part of the action, colleagues at Manchester Airports Group (MAG) will mimic a pre-pandemic day of flying on social media, as part of the nationwide protest at the Government’s handling of international travel.

Staff at all three MAG airports – Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands – will post pictures of themselves on Twitter, to mark every single flight that would have taken off today (June 23).

Today, just 124 aircraft will depart the three gateways, – Manchester 47, East Midlands six and London Stansted 71 – compared with 651 departures – Manchester 319, East Midlands 60 and London Stansted 272 – before the pandemic struck.

An estimated 15,900 passengers – Manchester 5,600, East Midlands 600 and London Stansted 9,700 – will pass through the airports’ terminals this year, compared with 216,151 passengers – Manchester 104,464, East Midlands 17,667 and London Stansted 94,020 – two years earlier.

Staff at Manchester Airport will take part in the peaceful protest outside of Terminal Three, organised by Unite, at London Stansted Airport colleagues will join a march on Westminster with others from across the industry, while at East Midlands Airport a photo opportunity is taking place of passengers getting ready to go on holiday to nowhere, relaxing on sun loungers in their summer clothes.

Charlie Cornish, MAG Group CEO, said: “Aviation has been the sector hardest hit by the pandemic, yet government does not seem to appreciate its economic value or trust its own system for the restart of international travel.

“Despite holding back the recovery of an industry that supports more than one million jobs, and generates billions of pounds of value, there has been nowhere near the level of support offered to other parts of the economy.

“The whole of the travel industry recognises the need to protect public health and has supported every measure government has required in response to COVID-19.

“However, with so much at stake, it is simply unacceptable that government refuses to explain why it is not opening up travel to many popular destinations.”

He added: “Together with airlines, we have been left with no option but to challenge the Government’s lack of transparency, and to protest against the stifling of our recovery through this day of action.”

The day of action is timed to take place ahead of when the Government is expected to discuss and decide on the next steps for international travel.

It comes after MAG launched a legal challenge – supported by a number of major airlines – against the Government’s lack of transparency when making decisions about the countries categorised as red, amber or green in its traffic light system.

Lord Bilimoria, president of employers’ organisation the CBI, has also called on the Government for action.

He said: “Despite our high vaccination rate and relatively low numbers in hospital, the UK risks being left behind as the world opens up for business and tourist travel.

“Of course, public health must be front of mind on any decisions. But we can’t be first on vaccines, yet last on reopening international travel. It is essential for trade and business travel, not just tourism, and a key component in any economic recovery.”

He added: “The EU has developed its Green Certificate plan for easier movement for vaccinated travellers, while action is also being taken at Member State level, as well as the US and other countries. The international business community are united that global travel should begin to restart with a common rulebook to set standards worldwide.

“We must build on the success of the vaccine programme by removing quarantine restrictions for those who are protected. And to make better use of the green watch list, avoiding last minute surprises of countries shifting from green into amber.

“The Government should take a truly risk-based approach with greater transparency on how nations are classified in the traffic light system.

“The international travel sector has suffered incredibly badly in this crisis – 2020 saw a 75% fall in the number of air passengers travelling to and from the UK. Without moves to open up travel in the coming days the case for further targeted economic support for the sector will be required with urgency.”