Select committee: Transport Committee
Recommendation 14
Second Report: The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the aviation sector
Published 13 Jun 2020
Paragraph 83
Addressed to Department for Transport
Transport Committee Coronavirus: implications for transport All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
There have been calls from parliamentarians for the Government to strip British Airways from some of its slots, especially from Heathrow Airport where it is the dominant airline. Given the global nature of slot allocation rules, and international legislative restrictions, there are clear limits on what the UK Government can do. However, there has been considerable structural and market change within the aviation industry as a result of the pandemic, including the consolidation of airlines at specific airports. These changes may go on for years and could have serious impacts on consumer choice. We recommend that the Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority explore every avenue available to ensure that recent changes and their impact on the availability and distribution of airport slots do not unfairly impact passengers. This should include referring the whole aviation industry to the Competition and Markets Authority for a market study and possible investigation.
From: Transport Committee, Second Report: The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the aviation sector (HC 268), paragraph 83, 13 June 2020
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 7 September 2020 (deadline 13 August 2020).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government agrees on the importance of the aviation sector and of international standards, and sets out measures including Travel Corridors and a recovery plan, while giving reasons for retaining the existing legal refund deadlines and noting it is legally prevented from intervening in slot allocation.
- On quarantine, it describes self-isolation for arrivals as a precautionary, "time-limited" measure and says Travel Corridors exempt arrivals from certain countries, with the exemption list "under constant review".
- It aims to publish an aviation recovery plan to 2025 "this Autumn", covering matters including workforce and skills, regional connectivity and consumer issues.
- On sector-specific tax support, it points to cross-economy schemes, says it "would consider support on a 'last resort' basis", and notes a forthcoming consultation on aviation tax reform.
- On refunds, it says consumers "retain their legal right to a cash refund" and that it kept the existing legal time periods. It will look at the CAA's enforcement powers.