Mr Strutton spoke on television today after the news that pilots are calling for urgent action to help the aviation industry. The head of the BAA claimed the Government is “all over the place” when it comes to its travel traffic light system.
The BAA boss went on to say the Government could offer help to the struggling aviation industry, but it is “not what the Government’s doing”.
He said: “What the Government could say is let’s be open and honest, we don’t really want people travelling abroad, let’s just stop it.
“If the Government wants to say that, and then it can pay some compensation to the industry that it’s effectively shutting down for the year.
“But that’s not what the Government’s doing. The Government’s saying well we do want people to travel but to certain places.”
Mr Strutton added: “On the green list at the moment there’s Australia and New Zealand, but places like the Faroe Islands, the Sandwich islands – I mean, good grief, what the hell is going on with this list.
“I think everyone in the country just wants clarity about the summer.
“Can people go on holiday or not?
“Can the aviation industry get up off its knees and have some business this summer or not?
“Just tell us straight Government.”
Mr Strutton continued: “If you take an airline or an airport, they can’t survive on a quarter of their normal business.
“It’s in the summer that the whole international business makes its money.
“Last summer was a write off because of the Covid crisis and the restrictions in place.
“If we have another summer written off, there are estimates by the International Airport Transport Association that 860,000 jobs in the UK have either gone or at risk in international travel and aviation.
“That’s a big number of jobs depending on what the Government does next.”
The BAA boss appeared on Sky News after data was released this week revealing that flights in and out of the UK had fallen by 75 percent last June compared to the same period in 2019.
