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the legal challenge against the restrictions by British Airways owner IAG, easyJet and Ryanair. BVA-BDRC noted: “While


the quarantine rule is likely to deter international travel, the majority understand the rationale for the rule.” UK consumers’ caution


appears to extend to domestic travel. The survey found lead-


times for domestic holidays had shortened with the relaxation of restrictions on UK hospitality from the end of this week. However, BVA-BDRC found average lead times had not dropped “at a rate that suggests a surge in summer staycations”. It noted: “There has been


no significant movement in intentions to take a UK trip by August, suggesting a big chunk of the population [has] still to be persuaded.” The latest survey suggested


about one in four adults (27%) will take a UK holiday by the end of September and almost half (48%) by the end of December. Confirmation of the


countries on the government’s ‘Covid travel list’ of destinations to which quarantine-free return travel is allowed may push the numbers booking and taking outbound holidays higher. But if almost one in four


take a holiday by the end of the year, as the survey suggests, it would still represent more of a turnaround than many feared at the height of the lockdown while by no means wiping out the losses of the past four months. The BVA-BDRC survey


was conducted on June 16-18 among 1,757 UK adults.


UK airports body warns 20,000 jobs are at risk


Redundancies in aviation are mounting even as airlines secure fresh funding and outbound travel is poised to restart. Lufthansa won shareholders’


agreement to a €9 billion German state-aid package last week after a billionaire stakeholder dropped opposition to a deal which will see


the German government take a 20% stake in the airline. KLM secured €3.4 billion in


funds from the Dutch government in the form of a loan and state- guaranteed credit facility, and easyJet raised £419 million through the issue of almost 60 million new shares. Yet the Airport Operators


Association warned up to 20,000 UK airport jobs are at risk as ground handler Swissport announced more than 4,500 redundancies among its 8,500 UK workers. And Jet2.com became the latest UK airline to propose redundancies


Swissport is axing 4,500 UK jobs


with more than 100 pilots and 380 cabin crew job losses expected. A Jet2 spokesperson said: “We’ve had to reduce our flying programme for the rest of 2020 and for 2021.”


Passenger confidence is critical, says Iata chief


Ian Taylor


Restoring confidence in flying will be crucial to restarting travel, Iata has warned, as research suggests four out of five air passengers fear an increased risk of coronavirus infection from flying. Iata director general Alexandre


de Juniac issued the warning, saying: “I can’t emphasise how critical passenger confidence is. We are working across the industry to send an aligned message.” He reported the proportion of air


travellers saying they would return to travel within six months had fallen from about 60% in an Iata survey in March to 45% in June. At the same time, Iata research found “more than 80% of passengers believe there is risk of infection from flying – from queueing, from potential close proximity to infected people, from breathing on an aircraft”. Speaking on a Hong Kong


Tourism Board global online forum, 32 2 JULY 2020


Alexandre de Juniac


De Juniac said: “Partly people are not confident to travel, partly borders do not permit travel, and even where borders are open, governments impose restrictions. “Recovery will be slow and


painful. So [safety] measures and communication are absolutely key.” De Juniac insisted the


implementation of Covid-19 guidelines on air travel “must be universal” and said removing


quarantine restrictions would be vital. But he said: “We understand no country wants to import Covid-19. We are not suggesting governments with quarantine measures in place should simply open their borders. “We are suggesting governments


which assess the need for quarantine consider a layering of measures, with two objectives: to prevent infected people from flying and to prevent clusters in the case that an infected person does travel.” De Juniac said: “Contact tracing


will help and, while the costs of contact tracing are significant, they are far lower than the cost of keeping travel and tourism in lockdown.” He added: “The availability of


reasonably priced insurance will be an influence on travel confidence.” De Juniac said Iata expects “the


intercontinental market to reopen [only] in the fourth quarter [of 2020]”, adding: “We will have a reduced number of airlines because some will go bankrupt.”


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