The British airline industry has called for a new package of economic support and for the additional testing of fully vaccinated passengers to be scrapped, in a public attack on the latest UK travel restrictions aimed at tackling the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant.
The chief executives of British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Ryanair and easyJet described the new pre- and post-departure testing of UK-bound passengers as “disproportionate” and at risk of causing “permanent scarring” to the industry.
The open letter, which was also signed by the heads of Loganair, Jet2, Tui and the industry association Airlines UK, was published early on Monday ahead of a meeting between executives and government officials later in the day.
“Whilst we fully recognise the need to take steps to contain the initial impact of the Omicron variant, travel has been singled out with the introduction of disproportionate restrictions,” the executives said.
“Further, pre-departure and upon-arrival testing clearly add very little value to our Covid protection, but unnecessarily disrupt…
