12 JULY 2021

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Article from BTNews 12 JULY 2021

Airline Court Hearing

Five British companies involved with the airline industry went to the High Court last Friday morning (9 July) taking on the Government for the way it has handled the ‘traffic light’ situation.

Whilst this legal test could be overtaken by events clearly the case may well set a precedent in the way emergencies such as the pandemic are handled in the future.

The case is in front of Lord Justice Lewis and Mr Justice Swift.

The following statement was issued on behalf of Charlie Cornish, CEO, Manchester Airports Group; Michael O’Leary, CEO, Ryanair Group; Luis Gallego, CEO, IAG; Johan Lundgren, CEO, easyJet and Andrew Flintham, Managing Director, TUI UK & Ireland.

“As an industry, safety is always our number one priority, and we have supported every measure introduced to protect the health of the travelling public throughout this pandemic.

“We welcomed the creation of a Global Travel Taskforce to establish a safe framework for flying which recognised the need for confidence and clarity for consumers and supported the principle of a ‘traffic light system’ based on the risk of travelling to different destinations.

“However, it remains unclear how the Government is taking decisions on country categories, which is in stark contrast to other governments including the US and the EU, who have set out clear parameters for travel.

“A survey this week of 2,000 British travellers by easyJet showed 89% think the Government’s travel policies and advice have been confusing, while 83% think there is a lack of clarity or transparency on Government decision-making in relation to the traffic light system.

“British consumers need to understand how decisions are made so they can confidently plan their travel, which is why we are asking the Government to provide the data and advice that is underpinning its decision making.

“We urge the Government to take a data-driven and risk management approach to re-open our skies safely. UK aviation supports 1.5 million jobs. Global Britain needs aviation. The Government should act now to re-boot the economy and protect jobs.”

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