A travel industry day of action has been called to pile pressure on the government to support a safe return to international travel in time for the peak summer period.
The day of action - on June 23 - will be calling on the government to allow international travel to return safely and in a risk managed way by properly implementing the Global Travel Taskforce’s plan.
It also wants ministers to bring forward a package of tailored financial support to recognise that the unlocking of international travel will be much slower than first anticipated.
The event is backed by all sections of the travel industry including airlines, airports, tour operators and travel agents.
The day of action will involve an organised lobby at the Houses of Parliament with other events in London, Edinburgh and Belfast.
The day of action will take place ahead of the government's announcements on the next steps for international travel, scheduled for June 28, and a review of the traffic light list and testing requirements.
Mark Tanzer, chief executive of travel trade group ABTA, said: "These next weeks will be critical for the travel industry. We have been working together since the start of the pandemic to make the sector’s case on what the industry needs to get through this crisis and return safely to international travel.
"We’re in a situation where the government is curtailing overseas travel but isn’t providing tailored support for the travel industry. The longer this goes on the more jobs, livelihoods and businesses are at risk.”
Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, added: “The UK is falling behind other countries, including many of our competitors in Europe, when it comes to restarting our aviation and travel sectors.
"With the success of the vaccine rollout, it is vital the government takes steps to capitalise on the progress that has been made, otherwise we face doing severe long-term damage to the economy and the competitiveness of our world-leading aviation sector.
“Quite clearly the time has come for every corner of our industry – from aviation to inbound and outbound tourism and business travel – to come together if we are to have any hope of getting international travel properly up and running in time for the main summer weeks.
"Failure to do so would be truly catastrophic with so many tens of thousands of jobs hanging in the balance.”
