Balpa: UK airports suffering worse Covid fate than European counterparts

The latest statistics from Eurocontrol published in mid-August revealed that the top three worst affected airports in Europe are in the UK: Gatwick (1), Manchester (2) and Heathrow (3).

Balpa has since called on the government to announce winter financial support for the sector including a "six month extension of furlough, recognising that the ongoing strict government travel restrictions are constraining recovery for UK aviation".

Balpa acting general secretary, Martin Chalk, said it was "devastating" to watch government restrictions "destroy" the UK aviation industry.

"These dire figures show it is not the virus that’s killing the sector, but the artificial, over cautious government restrictions on international travel," he added.

"The government has handed our aviation industry the gold, silver and bronze medal for worst affected airports in Europe: a shameful and deeply damaging prize. The UK is now clearly lagging behind our European competitors."