06 Apr 2020

ABTA has launched a campaign to put pressure on the UK government to protect the Uk travel industry as it struggles with the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic.

The campaign encourages people to send an electronic letter to their local member of parliament appealing for action.

ABTA claims Government intervention is needed to prevent travel companies collapsing, which will cost the taxpayer £4.5 billion in refunds that the Air Travel Trust Fund can't cover, and hundreds of thousands of jobs.

The "Save Future Travel" campaign is also asking the Government to amend its Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which currently only applies to furloughed staff, leaving companies who still need staff to work to pick up 100% of the wage bill.

The "Save Future Travel"  website says that "Existing regulations are not able to deal with this unforeseen global shutdown, and without urgent additional help, perfectly viable and normally successful UK travel businesses, employing tens of thousands of people, are at risk of going bankrupt."

Find out more on the Save Future Travel website