Save Our Summer: British Pilots Call On Politicians To Rescue Travel Industry

British pilots send out SOS to politicians and policy makers to rescue the travel industry and save the summer. They have asked the British government to provide clearer travel guidance and direct financial support to rescue jobs as the industry grapples with an existential crisis brought on by COVID restrictions.

While England is in process of opening from a third national lockdown, they have maintained strict lock on travel except for to and from a small handful of places.

British ministers are examining ways to re-open travel more broadly, and are considering plans to ditch quarantine requirements but ONLY for vaccinated adults and their children to SOME destinations.

While many wonder to what end, since vaccinated people can still get the virus and are still contagious, Prime Minister Boris Johnson insists that whatever happens, it will be a difficult year for travel in the UK.

According to Brian Strutton, acting General Secretary of the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) “The government has to decide if this summer it will make or break the UK travel industry,”

“Pilots are meeting politicians across the UK today to urge them to put pressure on the government to act now  and  save not only the summer but the future of UK aviation and travel.  

Popular European holiday destinations for Britons, including Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and Greece, are currently rated “amber” and require returning passengers to take three expensive COVID-19 tests and isolate for 10 days on return.

Under the current “traffic light” system, only travelers to a small number of green-list countries can avoid quarantine. BALPA urged the government to expand the green list when the system is reviewed on June 28.

Strutton also said that direct state support to airlines and airports would help save jobs and companies as they head into the European winter, traditionally the off-peak travel season for Brits.