Heathrow slashes passenger forecasts as Covid-19 losses near £2.4bn – business live
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- Heathrow lost £329m in Q1, with just 1.7m passengers
- Total pandemic losses are nearly £2.4bn
- Airport cuts passenger forecast to 13m-36m, down from 81m in 2019
- Heathrow blames ‘continuing uncertainty over Government policy’
- Restarting travel on 17 May will ‘kickstart recovery’
- Worried about queues at the border
Why would restarting foreign holidays help UK exporters, as Heathrow claims?
Well, under normal times, a lot of the cargo actually travels on passenger jets, rather than on freight-only flights. That option shrank once the pandemic hit passenger travel.
Heathrow is the UK’s biggest port, but 95% of cargo is carried in the hold of passenger planes.
Unused slots have allowed more dedicated freighter operations and higher rates for cargo have allowed airlines to keep operating some routes with low passenger load factors. However, despite our collective efforts, cargo volumes were down 5.0% in the first three months of 2021 compared to the same period last year. This shows the importance of restarting long haul passenger travel to reinstate the UK’s supply chain and export routes.
Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye says the airport’s losses show the economic damage caused by the pandemic.
Restarting international travel from 17th May (the earliest date under the government’s plan) will kickstart the recovery, Holland-Kaye argues:
These results show how COVID has devastated the aviation sector and British trade. Restarting international travel from May 17th will help to kickstart the economic recovery, allowing exporters to get their goods to market, as well as reuniting families who have been separated for over a year. Heathrow is gearing up for the recovery.
By acting early to cut costs and protect cash, we have put ourselves in a strong financial position to weather the storm and are ready to welcome back passengers, while keeping them safe. This would not be possible without the energy and commitment of my colleagues across Heathrow and I am very proud of what they have achieved.
Related: People in England could get Covid passports for foreign travel by 17 May
Related: UK's Covid traffic light travel plan too simplistic, say scientists
Continue reading...from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3aO1jgE
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