UK. London Heathrow Airport passenger traffic fell by -97% year-on-year in May, to 228,000. In the first five months passenger volumes fell by -52.1% to just over 15 million.
The airport company said that the “grim picture” is likely to continue “thanks to the government’s quarantine policy which requires all arriving passengers to self-isolate for two weeks”. In line with this, the airport has begun to restructure its frontline roles, having already cut one-third of managerial roles.
Heathrow is urging the UK government to establish ‘air bridges’ to low-risk countries that will enable the country to “restart its economy and protect livelihoods in aviation and related sectors”.
The aviation industry has called for a 12-month waiver in business rates for all airports in England and Wales, matching the support given to Scottish and Northern Irish airports and the UK’s hospitality and leisure sector.
Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said: “Throughout this crisis, we have tried to protect front line jobs, but this is no longer sustainable, and we have now agreed a voluntary severance scheme with our union partners. While we cannot rule out further job reductions, we will continue to explore options to minimise the number of job losses.”
