Airline and holiday firm bosses have joined in attacking the UK government’s “utterly confusing” advice on foreign travel, accusing ministers of “moving the goalposts” and lacking transparency over decisions on safe destinations.
The UK was being left behind Europe and throwing away the success of its coronavirus vaccination programme, they said, warning that another lost summer would have “grave consequences” for the industry.
The bosses of easyJet, British Airways, Ryanair, Jet2, Tui UK and others have written to the prime minister, Boris Johnson, to register their dismay at ministers’ comments suggesting travel was dangerous, urging the government to “stick to the framework” of the traffic light system instead of telling people to not visit amber-listed countries.
The letter says: “The government now appears not to want a meaningful restart to international travel this summer, and it is impossible for any business or consumers to plan under this scenario, such that we are genuinely fearful that some UK businesses may fail.”
Speaking earlier, the chief executive of easyJet, Johan Lundgren, said that there was no transparency on the parameters of the green list, compared with other European countries: “The government has made this into a guessing game, not led by data and science. It’s made it tremendously difficult for operators to plan.”
He contrasted it with conversations with European governments: “It’s how can we make it happen? That’s the attitude I’m seeing over there.”
The confusion was exacerbated by Foreign Office advice that was not aligned with the traffic light system, the travel firms said. The chief executive of Jet2holidays, Steve Heapy, said it was frustrating: “To have two separate lists is utterly confusing … we have to make decisions based on conflicting information.
“If one department in my business said one thing and another said another, I’d get them in my office and bang their bloody heads…