Shapps: 'We will review our travel policy in the new year'
Will PayneThe UK government will review its international travel policy in the new year, transport secretary Grant Shapps has said, sparking a call from Labour for greater sector-specific support for travel and aviation.
Speaking at the Airport Operations Association’s (AOA) annual conference on Tuesday (19 October), Shapps said the forthcoming review would explore whether the government can steer the country "even further towards restriction-free overseas travel". "It’s been an incredibly tough and frustrating year for airports but, in fact, 2021 has seen considerable progress," Shapps told delegates.
"We know Covid is far from over, but recent relaxations of travel restrictions are a clear sign that we are well on the way to recovery. This is a significant step in normalising international travel and giving people the confidence to book trips."
He said the central authority will continue "to maintain surveillance on our borders" through testing and genomic sequencing so "we can respond rapidly if risks from other countries arise".
"We will review our international travel policy once again in the new year to see if we can move even further towards restriction free travel," said Shapps.
"Together, these measures will go a long way in sparking the recovery of the market for both leisure and business flights, so airports are able to ramp up their operations this winter and look forward to a much better and busier 2022."
However, in his conference address, shadow transport secretary Jim McMahon slammed the government for failing to provide sector-specific support for the aviation industry. "Over the past 18 months, we have been waiting and waiting and waiting, and pushing for that sectoral deal that the chancellor promised," he said.
"It was meant to reflect the fact that aviation would take longer to recover, that it is affected by the seasonality, but also that it has been hugely devastated by the international travel restrictions."
McMahon said a sectoral deal would mean "the government finally recognised" the financial impact the pandemic has had on the sector, and the time it would take aviation to recover.
"When it first came, the pandemic, we thought the government understood that, because they promised a sectoral deal. But I’m afraid that just didn’t come," McMahon added.
"Our view is clear. You can’t say you want to level up the UK when one of the most critical parts of our economy isn’t being supported."
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