Airport and Tourism communities hit hardest by COVID-19 job losses

Today, the All Party-Parliamentary Group for the Future of Aviation has released an analysis of unemployment statistics that shows that airport and tourism communities are being hardest hit by the impacts of the pandemic. 

Nationally, the number of people claiming unemployment related benefits rose by 115% nationally between the end February 2020 and the end February 2021 with the constituencies containing the UK’s top 20 airports seeing unemployment rise by 147%.  

This includes increases of:

·       220% in Hayes and Harlington, the home of London Heathrow Airport

·       230% in Crawley, the home of London Gatwick Airport

·       218% in Saffron Walden, the home of London Stansted Airport

·       164% in Edinburgh West, the home of Edinburgh International Airport

·       180% in North Somerset, the home of Bristol International Airport

These figures are matched by the rise in unemployment in the Top 25 Towns and Cities in the UK for spending by international visitors, which show an average increase in unemployment of 137%, including increases of 192% in Stratford upon Avon, 177% in Brighton and Hove and 120% in Bath.

Ahead of the publication of the Global Travel Taskforce report into the reopening of international travel, the APPG is repeating its call for the Prime Minister to introduce a risk-based approach to international travel that would allow for travel to low-risk nations with minimal or no restrictions whilst providing flexibility for restrictions on those nations where there remains a high risk, including those with Covid-19 variants of concern. 

Commenting Henry Smith MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Future of Aviation said:

 “These figures show the devastating impact that the pandemic has had on those communities who rely on international travel and tourism, who have borne the brunt of the collapse in passenger numbers since March last year.

“International travel will be vital to ensuring that our towns and cities recover from the pandemic whether they are reliant on outbound or inbound travel.  Our high streets, visitor attractions and hospitality industry will not recover without the £30billion spent by international visitors in 2019 and our airport communities will not recover if our skies remain empty during the busy summer months.

“It is high time that the Government backed our aviation, travel and tourism industries and brought in a risk-based framework that will allow the safe restart of international travel and allow these communities to begin the long road to recovery.