Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news
- Heathrow lost £329m in Q1, with just 1.7m passengers
- Total pandemic losses are nearly £2.4bn
- Airport cuts passenger forecast to 13m-36m, down from 81m in 2019
- Heathrow blames ‘continuing uncertainty over Government policy’
- Restarting travel on 17 May will ‘kickstart recovery’
Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye says the airport’s losses show the economic damage caused by the pandemic.
Restarting international travel from 17th May (the earliest date under the government’s plan) will kickstart the recovery, Holland-Kaye argues:
These results show how COVID has devastated the aviation sector and British trade. Restarting international travel from May 17th will help to kickstart the economic recovery, allowing exporters to get their goods to market, as well as reuniting families who have been separated for over a year. Heathrow is gearing up for the recovery.
By acting early to cut costs and protect cash, we have put ourselves in a strong financial position to weather the storm and are ready to welcome back passengers, while keeping them safe. This would not be possible without the energy and commitment of my colleagues across Heathrow and I am very proud of what they have achieved.
Related: People in England could get Covid passports for foreign travel by 17 May
Related: UK’s Covid traffic light travel plan too simplistic, say scientists
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.
While underlying demand for travel remains strong, continuing uncertainty over Government policy means we have reduced our passenger forecast for the year to a range between 13 and 36 million, compared to 81 million in 2019.
As vaccinations are rolled-out and COVID levels fall, restarting travel to markets like the US will be critical to the UK’s economic recovery and we will be prepared to scale-up our operations as demand returns.
“Spain specifically, I’m afraid I just don’t have the answer to that because the joint biosecurity centre will need to come up with their assessment and we can’t do that until a bit nearer the time,”
Related: NHS app will be used as Covid ‘vaccine passport’ for foreign travel
Border Force’s ability to provide an acceptable service for arriving passengers remains primary concern surrounding the restart and Ministers will need to ensure every desk is staffed to avoid unacceptable queues.
Heathrow Airport plunges to $459 million loss in first quarter – https://t.co/1iKRQ0Cc8t
Morning all!
– The FOMC left policy unchanged and Fed Chair Powell pushed back on early tapering expectations
“It has a tremendous amount to do with vaccination and re-opening of the economy — that’s really what has been moving markets a lot in the last few months.”
“The overall financial stability picture is mixed, but on balance it’s manageable.
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