Government must protect travel jobs under new quarantine rules, says Labour

Labour has told the government to abandon its “one-size-fits-all” approach to Covid support and protect travel jobs after the introduction of a two-week quarantine period for travellers coming from Spain.

Reacting to warnings from the aviation and tourism industries over the impact of the arrangements introduced on Saturday, the opposition party reiterated its call for the government to take a sector-specific approach to business support.

Warning that both sectors are struggling, Labour highlighted the “17,500 redundancy notices issued in the aviation sector since the beginning of lockdown” and the recent collapse of Monarch, Thomas Cook and Flybe.

Commenting on the introduction of the new arrangements for Spain, Jim McMahon said: “The government’s handling of this issue has been nothing short of chaotic. The airline industry and passengers need clarity.”

The government has been widely criticised for publishing its decision to remove Spain from the list of countries exempted from quarantine requirements on Saturday suddenly and without prior warning.

The Shadow Transport Secretary added: “The past few days have been symptomatic of the government who were too slow to enter the lockdown, too slow to get vital protective equipment to NHS, social care and other key workers, and too slow on testing and tracing to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

“It will take a long time to recover from the impact of the virus. The government must focus support on the sectors that desperately need it, like aviation, aerospace and its supply chain, which supports almost a quarter of a million jobs, with strict climate conditions and ensuring the gains are shared with the public.”

The announcement over the weekend caught lots of holidaymakers in the country by surprise. Labour’s Jon Ashworth described the decision-making process behind the development as “shambolic” on Sunday.

Commenting on the way in which the announcement emerged, Ashworth said “it broke on Twitter, because a very good Sunday journalist got hold of the story and then the government had to scramble to confirm it – that is no way to treat people”.

Earlier today, Labour’s Nick Thomas-Symonds highlighted that the party had been calling for a “sector-specific deal for aviation for some considerable time”, and said such targeted intervention is now “absolutely vital”.

Labour outlined in May its plan to support the aviation industry. The party urged the government to look at the example of other European countries and provide support conditional on environmental commitments and the protection of jobs.