Representatives from across the aviation and travel industry came together at Westminster today to put pressure on Government to safely reopen travel for this summer and provide tailored financial support to the sector.

The ‘Travel Day of Action’ sees the coming together of airlines, airports, travel management companies, tour operators, travel agencies, suppliers and partners to call on the government to capitalise on vaccine rollout and reinstate a risk-managed approach around a safe return to international travel in time for the crucial peak summer period.

Organisers are campaigning to get Britain travelling safely, in order to connect loved ones who have been apart for many months, protect travel jobs and businesses, as well as generating income to businesses across Europe and support the mental and physical wellbeing of the public.

Supporters of the cross-industry day of action include ABTA, Airlines UK, the Airport Operators Association, BAR UK, UKinbound, the Business Travel Association, IATA, Advantage Travel Partnership, and the wider industry under the umbrella Save Future Travel Coalition, alongside unions GMB, Unite, BALPA and Prospect.

Hundreds of airline personnel including pilots, cabin crew and ground staff from major UK airlines including easyJet, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and TUI attended the event, along with hundreds of staff and owners of travel agents and tour operators.

As the wider domestic economy reopens, and edges closer to normality, the UK travel and tourism sectors however remain essentially closed and mired in uncertainty as an estimated 195,0001 jobs have been lost across the sector and many more remain at risk.

Attendees and supporters are lobbying the government to allow international travel to return safely, in a risk-managed way by properly implementing the Global Travel Taskforce’s plan for a traffic-light system; by expanding the Green list in line with the evidence and making restrictions more proportionate, whilst keeping a strong red list to guard against variants.

Furthermore, they are calling on parliament to bring forward a package of tailored financial support, including extension of the furlough scheme until business can resume at a sustainable level.

The British travel industry generates over £53 billion in domestic spending and £28.4 billion in spending from foreign visitors and tourists.