AVIATION & TRAVEL INDUSTRY NEEDS MORE SUPPORT FROM THE UK GOVERNMENT

The aviation, travel and tourism sectors have been some of the worst hit sectors by the Covid19 pandemic, with up to hundreds of thousands of jobs lost or under threat.

While the need for ongoing travel restrictions remains at this stage to protect against the importation of harmful variants, such as the Delta variant which has delayed plans to ease lockdown, I called for more UK Government support for these key sectors to manage this difficult period. While the furlough scheme is welcome, the French and German Governments have given more than twice the financial support for every aviation and aerospace job than the UK Government have.

I called for an extension of the furlough scheme and the self-employed income support scheme for those working in these industries, as well as the creation of new sector-specific recovery grants for travel agents, tour operators and travel agencies.

It is also vital that we reintroduce a four nations approach for international travel after the UK Government suspended this when the Scottish Government urged more action. The UK Government was too slow in recognising the danger posed by the outbreak in India, and we cannot see these mistakes repeated.

Watch my speech below.