Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 16 September 2020
I thank the Labour Party for bringing this important debate to the chamber. I raised the matter of the crisis in our aviation sector with the First Minister last week, and, although she offered warm words, little action has been taken so far. However, Parliament can unite around the motion, which we will support. I hope that that will spur the Government into doing much more.
Government action, and then inaction, has caused the crisis. Lockdown was a policy choice with severe knock-on consequences, both immediate and potentially long-term if we do not act soon. In Scotland, we rely on our airports to get us there if we want to connect to the world, but foreign travel has all but stopped.
Across the UK, the aviation industry has lost 95 per cent of its flights during lockdown. Passenger numbers at both Aberdeen and Glasgow airports are down 80 per cent on the previous year and were down as much as 99 per cent during the first months of the pandemic. The reduction in traffic and passengers means that Aberdeen and Glasgow airports have lost their main source of revenue—their costs are the same, however.
Passenger numbers at Edinburgh airport are down 79 per cent over the past year. Airlines have cancelled routes, many of which will not return, and they are making widespread redundancies and reducing their fleets. Virgin Atlantic has announced cuts of more than 1,150 jobs; Loganair plans to cut 68 jobs; the easyJet workforce has seen a 30 per cent cut, and BA has moved to axe 12,000 roles. Scotland’s connectivity, its aviation industry and the jobs that it supports are at serious risk.
During the first four months of the pandemic, UK airports lost just under £2 billion—the equivalent of more than £15 million each day—and they are projected to lose at least £4 billion by the end of 2020. Lockdown has cost Edinburgh airport £3.5 million despite furlough. That situation cannot continue.
Last week, I warned that Scotland’s airports face a tsunami of job losses. With little to no trade, thousands of people who are employed in our aviation sector face a bleak future. I said then that Scotland could end up no longer connected to the world, and that is not alarmist.
Quarantine—even the threat thereof—puts people off flying. Last week, figures showed that no one is tested on arrival at our airports and less than 5 per cent of those who are asked to quarantine get a follow-up phone call. However, 30 other countries are doing what our airports are asking to be allowed to do, which is to test all passengers from outside the UK on arrival. From testing no one to testing everyone, we could then follow up anyone who tested negative and do a second test a few days later.
The plain fact is that we have absolutely no idea whether anyone who is asked to quarantine actually does it—the system is hopeless. I call on the Scottish Government to beef things up and agree to a trial of airport testing. It can be done: in Italy, a negative coronavirus test is obligatory before a flight. Passengers check in an hour early and are not allowed to board if they test positive. We should at least aim to cut the quarantine period from 14 days to seven, as France has just done. If we do not act, we will lose a sector that we cannot afford to let go of.
The wider Scottish travel industry is fighting for survival, which matters to our economy. Why would we want to turn our backs on £11 billion of economic activity in the wider Scottish supply chain that tourists bring us? Without outbound tourism, we lose inbound tourism—the two are co-dependent. Outbound travel from the UK is worth £1.7 billion a year and 25,000 people are employed in that sector in Scotland.
In August, the Scottish Passenger Agents Association undertook a survey that concluded that 70 per cent of travel agents have experienced a drop in business of more than 75 per cent. We are losing many travel brands on a daily basis—Flybe, STA Travel, Flight Centres, Shearings and Cruise and Maritime Voyages—and, without urgent intervention, more will join that list.
The entire travel sector is at risk, so Governments must use all the levers at their disposal to help. That is why the amendment in my name says that they should review air passenger duty. Some people have called for a temporary suspension of the duty, which might help. Difficult times call for tough decisions, and both our Governments should get their heads together on that.
I think that all parties in this chamber—bar the Greens, who have not bothered to turn up—get the seriousness of that.