UK 'losing £32 million a day' without US air corridor

Airlines UK wants an air corridor between London and New York opened to stem the £11 billion lost so far because of travel restrictions with the US. It estimates current air capacity between the UK and US is just 15% of 2019 levels.

The group and its supporters are calling for an air corridor to be established with Covid testing for all who use it.

Heathrow chief executive John Holland Kaye said: "We can start with flights to New York, a city where infection rates are now lower than here, and which is the UK’s most valuable route.

"PCR testing in private labs, both pre-flight and on arrival, would ensure that there is no risk of importing Covid and could pave the way to a Common International Standard for aviation testing."

He added: "The UK sees more visitors by air from the US than from any other country, ordinarily welcoming nearly four million visitors each year – making the US the largest single source of inbound tourism and business travel to the UK economy.

"Visitors from the US spent a total of £3.8 billion during 2019, but this figure is expected to fall by £3.1 billion in 2020.

"Critically, the average duration of a trip by US visitors is seven days, meaning that current quarantine rules effectively lock these high-spending visitors out of the UK."

Airlines UK argues airport Covid-19 testing is now used by more than 30 countries around the world, including at airports in Paris, Tokyo and Dubai.

Airlines UK has been joined by the Federation of Small Businesses in calling for an air corridor.

FSB national chair Mike Cherry said: "The US is the number one target for small businesses looking to export, which is why we need to see these quarantine rules reviewed to help our ailing small firms both in the UK and the US."