Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support he is providing to maintain jobs in the travel industry during the covid-19 outbreak.

The Government recognises the challenging circumstances facing the aviation and travel sectors because of Covid-19 and firms experiencing difficulties can draw upon the unprecedented package of measures announced by the Chancellor.

In total, we estimate that by the end of September 2021, the air transport sector will have benefitted from around £7bn of Government support since the start of the pandemic. This includes support through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), which was extended until 30 September 2021. From official statistics from HM Revenue and Customs, we estimate around 50% of air transport sector employees are currently furloughed using the CJRS.

In February the Department for Transport also launched the Aviation Skills Retention Platform which allows former and current aviation sector workers who are currently out of work to register their skills, so they can be notified of relevant jobs opportunities, advice and upskilling opportunities.