Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2020 to Question 52534, what discussions his Department has had with representatives from airlines on Government support to alleviate financial difficulties that have arisen due to the covid-19 outbreak.

The Government recognises the challenging times facing the aviation sector as a result of COVID-19, and has been engaging regularly with airlines throughout the UK to understand the impact that COVID-19 is having on their financial position.

Businesses across the industry, including airlines, have been able to draw on the unprecedented package of economic measures put in place during this time. This includes a Bank of England scheme for firms to raise capital, two business interruption loan guarantee schemes for different sizes of business, Time to Pay flexibilities with tax bills, financial support for employees and VAT deferrals.

If airlines find themselves in trouble as a result of coronavirus even following the Government’s cross-economy wage and financial interventions, the Transport Secretary and Chancellor have confirmed that the Government is prepared to enter discussions with individual companies seeking bespoke support as a last resort, having exhausted all other options. Any intervention would need to represent value for money for taxpayers.

Airlines across the country are eligible and have accessed these schemes which has protected a substantial number of jobs across the industry. We do not comment on the commercial or financial matters of private firms and are therefore it would be inappropriate to detail individual discussions.