Edinburgh airport bosses have criticised “two tier” travel advice for confusing fliers and delivering “no real public health benefit that we could understand”.
Edinburgh Airport managers have submitted evidence to a Westminster inquiry into the future of Scottish airports.
The Scottish Affairs Committee inquiry, headed by SNP MP Pete Wishart, has begun taking evidence.
The Edinburgh team also said there was no end to Covid-19 restrictions in sight.
“There is no plan to return to a situation like prior to the pandemic, in which people can travel without further tests or forms to fill out,” their submission states.
What happened on the opening day of the inquiry?
Karen Dee from the Airport Operators Association spoke on the opening day of the inquiry, Monday November 22.
She described Covid-19 as “absolutely devastating” to the aviation industry.
It was one of the first sectors to feel the effects of the pandemic and will likely be one of the last to recover, she added.
She warned airports in mainland Europe are more likely to recover quicker.
“European airports have opened up much more quickly. Their testing regimes are less restrictive than they are still in the UK.
Edinburgh Airport’s written evidence hit out at both Scottish and UK governments for divergent “two tier” travel advice.
Bosses at the airport said this “confused airlines, passengers and created difficulty for no real public health benefit that we could understand.”
Ms Dee said: “We did suffer a little bit from a divergence between the four nations.”
She said imposing differences between sovereign nations due to the aviation industry’s global nature is already a difficult task, so doing that within the UK is particularly problematic.
The Scottish Affairs Committee inquiry is exploring the impact of the pandemic on Scottish airports.
It will ask how falling passenger numbers have affected communities as well as exploring environmental concerns.
Earlier this year, airport bosses across Scotland called on Holyrood to relax quarantine rules in line with England.
Can Scottish airports recover?
Getting back to pre-pandemic levels will take a long time, according to managers at Edinburgh airport.
The facility is losing “millions per month.”
Resultant loan repayments will “curtail” the airport’s ability to invest in improvements such as sustainability and new routes, the organisation claims.
The submission also suggested the government has no recovery plan for the sector.
“Ministers seemed indifferent to aviation job losses.
“Throughout the pandemic, our requests for support fell on deaf ears. Letters to ministers went unanswered and those that were answered offered no solution.”
The submission states policy decisions were made late and “delivered with no engagement” and with “little notice.”
“It remains the case there is no plan for aviation recovery.”
Ministers seemed indifferent to aviation job losses.”
Edinburgh Airport evidence to the airport inquiry
The UK government did not respond to a request for comment.
A Scottish Government spokesman said there has been “regular engagement” with the aviation sector.
“International travel restrictions have been significantly relaxed, but some measures remain necessary to limit the importation of the virus and variants of concern.”
