A group of nearly 40 MPs in the UK have written to chancellor Rishi Sunak urging him to offer support for airlines suffering financially from the coronavirus outbreak.

The airline industry has been lobbying the government for a widespread bailout package to keep firms from going under as demand for air travel drops and international travel restrictions continue. Many carriers have introduced severe cuts to their flights, while others have completely grounded their aircraft until further notice.

Some airline bosses say many companies will fail without government help because revenues have dried up nearly completely, but costs are still high ¨C including fees for parking grounded aircraft, regulatory obligations and taxes, alongside staffing costs.

In the letter, the MPs said the impact of the coronavirus on the country¡¯s aviation industry had been ¡°severe and truly unprecedented¡±, pointing out that markets with the harshest travel restrictions accounted for about 98 per cent of passenger revenues globally.

They said: ¡°Restrictions have all but eliminated airline and airport revenue, but not costs, which are substantial and go far beyond solely wages.

¡°It remains unclear what the duration of the economic impact will be on the UK¡¯s airlines and airports, who face a pressing challenge to survive.¡±

Chancellor Sunak said last week that the government will not be offering a blanket package for the industry but will instead look to offer airlines support on an individual basis only after they have exhausted all other options. In the meantime, carriers are eligible for some of the business support schemes already announced, such as wage subsidies for furloughed staff and a Bank of England programme to help firms raise capital.

But the MPs said this plan ¡°will not be enough and you have rightly indicated that further industry-wide measures will be considered to support the sector through the crisis and enable its recovery.¡±

Former aviation minister Robert Goodwill MP, who added his name to the letter, commented: ¡°It¡¯s vital that when our battered and bruised economy emerges from this Covid-19 nightmare that we have an aviation sector that will be in a position to play its part in restoring the jobs and connectivity that the UK relies on in so many ways. This means ensuring that airlines, airports, aerospace engineering companies and the travel sector are given the ¡®life support¡¯ required to survive this whirlwind in the short term to secure the industry¡¯s long-term future.¡±

The letter has been welcomed by the industry, with Airlines UK chief executive Tim Alderslade and Airport Operators Association CEO Karen Dee releasing a joint statement saying: ¡°Aviation is one of the key enablers of the UK economy ¨C without it we cannot trade or visit family and friends or do business ¨C and more than a million people are employed in the sector. Now we are seeing airports start to close their doors and revenue ¨C for both airlines and airports ¨C fall to practically zero. Yet we need a healthy aviation industry to support the UK¡¯s recovery from the pandemic.

¡°We¡¯ve put countless cross-industry ideas on the table to help aviation through this, and the chancellor said in his letter this week he was open to discussing them, yet no discussion has yet taken place. We are now entering the danger zone, and we urge government to change tack and start to engage on a sector-wide basis before it¡¯s too late.¡±

Meanwhile, transport secretary Grant Shapps has hinted that the government will not rule out the state taking an ownership stake in UK airlines that request help.