Heathrow calls on Government to act faster in order to protect jobs and unlock growth picture

Heathrow calls on Government to act faster in order to protect jobs and unlock growth

11 July, 2020

Heathrow calls on Government to act faster in order to protect jobs and unlock growth

 

  • COVID-19 continues to weigh on travel demand, with a drop in passenger numbers of over 95% compared to the start of last year’s summer season
  • Government’s quarantine policy for international arrivals impacted load factors, which declined by 7% following its introduction in early June, compared to 2019. An exit plan is now more critical than ever, as long-haul flights remain grounded and more jobs continue to be put at risk in an industry crucial to rebuilding the UK economy
  • Whilst steps toward travel corridors in July provide some hope for an initial recovery, further pace is needed to move past quarantine. Heathrow urges Government to act faster on establishing Common International Standards that would allow safer travel to critical trading routes
  • Heathrow stands ready to host the UK’s first pilot ‘Test-on-Arrival’ procedure from Collinson and Swissport. The pilot, which is subject to Government approval, could allow COVID-negative passengers arriving from higher risk countries to enter the UK without the need to quarantine
  • In addition, Heathrow is trialling a number of technologies and processes to keep the airport COVID-secure as travel resumes, including the existing temperature testing trials and exploring the use of UV sanitation to quickly and efficiently disinfect key touchpoints in the passenger journey
  • Whilst overall cargo tonnage in June was down by over 30% compared with 2019, Heathrow saw a record-breaking day for cargo-only flights on 6th June, with 140 movements in one day

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said:

“Travel corridors were a great first step and now we need to go further to protect jobs and kickstart the economy, by allowing healthy passengers to travel freely between the UK and the rest of the world. We’re ready to pilot a testing system on arrival for passengers from “red” countries as an alternative to quarantine, but even better would be to test passengers before they get on a plane. This requires a Common International Standard for testing, which the UK government could take a global lead in setting up.”

 

Traffic Summary

      

 

       

 

June 2020

     

 

        

Terminal Passengers
(000s)

Jun 2020

% Change

Jan to
Jun 2020

% Change

Jul 2019 to
Jun 2020

% Change

 

Market

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UK

               20

-95.4

             955

-58.9

          3,470

-32.3

 

EU

             151

-94.0

          4,892

-62.8

        19,199

-35.5

 

Non-EU Europe

               26

-94.9

          1,124

-59.3

          4,054

-34.5

 

Africa

                9

-96.8

             809

-53.3

          2,590

-32.1

 

North America

               46

-97.4

          3,321

-62.7

        13,247

-33.8

 

Latin America

                6

-94.8

             320

-53.4

          1,016

-31.9

 

Middle East

               43

-92.9

          1,728

-51.6

          5,907

-28.8

 

Asia / Pacific

               49

-94.9

          2,283

-59.3

          8,154

-35.1

 

Total

             350

-95.2

        15,433

-60.2

        57,639

-34.0

 

       

 

Air Transport Movements

 Jun 2020

% Change

Jan to
Jun 2020

% Change

Jul 2019 to
Jun 2020

% Change

 

Market

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UK

             242

-93.2

          9,519

-50.8

        30,888

-25.8

 

EU

          1,840

-89.9

        46,420

-55.4

      151,639

-33.8

 

Non-EU Europe

             413

-88.8

        10,437

-52.5

        32,018

-32.8

 

Africa

             269

-77.6

          4,156

-45.7

        11,731

-28.6

 

North America

          1,697

-76.8

        21,988

-46.4

        64,410

-28.4

 

Latin America

             160

-67.9

          1,670

-44.8

          4,649

-30.0

 

Middle East

             929

-63.4

          9,368

-36.7

        25,145

-23.5

 

Asia / Pacific

          1,655

-56.9

        13,836

-41.1

        37,687

-27.1

 

Total

          7,206

-82.3

      117,516

-50.1

      358,289

-30.6

 

       

 

Cargo
(Metric Tonnes)

Jun 2020

% Change

Jan to
Jun 2020

% Change

Jul 2019 to
Jun 2020

% Change

Market

 

 

 

 

 

 

UK

                 7

-83.6

             206

-27.9

             507

-28.4

EU

           5,251

-34.1

         32,100

-32.2

         79,123

-27.0

Non-EU Europe

           4,278

-9.2

         17,272

-38.9

         46,017

-26.3

Africa

           4,843

-37.9

         31,190

-36.0

         75,786

-25.9

North America

         27,910

-38.7

       201,979

-30.8

       475,244

-26.9

Latin America

           2,473

-43.0

         14,952

-46.2

         41,505

-31.5

Middle East

         18,947

-16.7

       102,033

-18.7

       235,580

-15.0

Asia / Pacific

         25,241

-33.4

       150,463

-36.3

       380,979

-29.5

Total

         88,989

-31.8

       552,550

-31.4

    1,337,097

-25.8