The chief executive of the Airport Operators Association has
warned aviation hubs across the world may have to shut down within weeks
without government intervention.
Karen Dee said that while airlines have called on global
governments to support them through the Covid-19 pandemic, ¡°we are clear that
airports will shut down in weeks unless urgent action is taken to support the industry¡±.
Dee has called on the UK government to be prepared to
provide or organise emergency funding ¡°as a measure of last resort¡± and to
force banks to temporarily relax enforcement of performance-based banking
covenants. She is also asking for a suspension of business rates and other
rates and taxes on airports, deferral of VAT, corporation tax and other
payments for the duration of flight restrictions, support for airport staff
laid off to cut costs, the suspension of regulatory costs and the postponement
of an increase to costs such as the Next Generation Security Checkpoint, and
relief from airport policing costs.
She has also asked the government to consider suspending Air
Passenger Duty for six months once the pandemic begins slowing to ¡°kickstart¡± the
aviation industry.
Dee commented: ¡°The UK¡¯s airports are critical national
infrastructure, fulfilling a vital public service, and are on the frontline of
the Covid-19 outbreak. It is essential that airport businesses remain operating
and are able to weather this storm so that they can provide the connectivity
which drives growth, employment and prosperity after the crisis has abated.
¡°With travel bans proliferating and passengers being
unwilling to fly, traffic through airports has plummeted. UK airports are
taking immediate and drastic action to cut costs and are scaling back
investments in light of the situation. Due to the fixed costs of operating
airports, the government will need to provide additional support.
¡°For the sake of the UK economy it is essential for the UK
government to catch up to its peers across the continent and provide support to
the sector and the wider economy through financing, guarantees, grants and tax relief.¡±