Pilots wary of British travel plan

LONDON - British airline pilots are worried that a lack of concrete opening dates, the cost of required Covid tests means that not enough people will want to travel this summer to help the industry recover.

The latest travel opening plan announced last week "will keep the aviation industry on its knees", Brian Strutton, Secretary General of pilots' union Balpa said.

"The British public – more than half of whom have now received a vaccine – will not feel confident to book holidays without knowing whether they’ll be forced into quarantine on their return." Balpa also cited testing costs as a potential obstacle to a recovery.

"It is clear that under this plan airlines are not going to be able to recover during this summer season and will have to wait for summer 2022 for significant leisure travel to resume", Strutton said.