British pilots say the Government should urgently produce an action plan to clear confusion about measures to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis and to rebuild passenger confidence. The British Airline Pilots Association says the travel industry is being crippled by constantly changing restrictions. It says the latest announcement of airport testing comes with more questions than answers, leaving passengers without the confidence to travel or book for future trips.

BALPA General Secretary, Brian Strutton said:

“Uncertainty is crippling for UK aviation which is already on its knees. The industry is in total confusion over how to navigate the crisis and we need our leaders to come up with a decisive action plan and support package.

“We need answers to the questions we have asked for months. When is this testing going to start? For how long? Which countries will have to do it? What tests qualify? Why are there no global standards? When is quarantining going to stop? All of these questions should have been answered.

“Last week saw multiple airlines cutting back their schedules for 2021 and this is only going to make matters worse.

“This is a critical point for our previously world leading industry. Unless the Government and its various aviation taskforces come up with more financial support and a road map to recovery I fear we could see further airline failures in the UK.”