Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support he plans to provide to the UK aviation industry in light of the policy proposal for a 14 day quarantine for inbound passengers to the UK during the covid-19 outbreak.

The aviation sector plays a key role in our future as a global trading nation, as well as playing a critical role in local economies.?However, it is important that we?actively?manage the risk of imported cases of coronavirus being introduced to the UK from overseas.?The?Prime?Minister has?set out the?need to ensure that we do not import new cases of Covid-19 as the UK’s R?rate?continues to decline. These measures,?which?we will be introducing in due course as part of the Government’s overall efforts, will help keep transmission in the UK as low as possible.

The Government continues to support businesses through one of the most generous economic packages provided anywhere in the world.? If businesses find themselves in severe and urgent financial difficulties, even following these unprecedented support measures, then we remain open to discussion about bespoke financial support, but only as a last resort. Any intervention would need to be on terms to protect the interests of taxpayers.

In time, the aviation sector will begin to restart and recover, and we are exploring measures that could be deployed in the aviation sector to ensure the public can be confident that flying is a safe and healthy way of travelling. Any changes to our approach will be led by advice from SAGE and the Chief Medical Officer.