The cancellation of flights out of Britain starts today as warnings come from travel bosses
A mass of cancellations on flights out of Britain will commence today as the country prepares to enter it’s second lockdown.
The aviation industry is set to enter a chaotic period as all international travel is banned for four weeks in general.
Furious bosses of the affected companies are warning the second lockdown will destroy Britain’s travel industry and lead to hundreds of thousands of job losses.
Thousands of pre planned flyers will also now have to start the arduous battle of claiming refunds for cancelled flights, with the industry already having a tarred reputation in that area during the pandemic.
Customers of airlines, especially those who run and operate holidays flights have been having an horrendous time obtaining refunds and just as the situation was starting to settle as the airlines caught up with refund processing and dealing with customers, they are thrown back into another situation of refund chaos.
Lily Metcalf from Axminster told Global247news this morning, how she’s on her ninth refund claim, after trying to get away for some sun, she said:
“This will be my ninth claim, I have attempted to get away to Benidorm all summer, after 8 cancellations I gave up and eventually got my monies refunded, every time different airlines cancelled flights”
“I finally selected the Canary Islands, the airlines said they were throwing on extra flights as quarantine measures were dropped – and here we are again now with what looks like another cancelled flight” she added.
EasyJet has already confirmed that most of its UK flights will be called off for the next month at least with others set to follow this morning.
Although the next fear amongst the industry that airlines will simply run out of money.
Industry experts are predicting that by Spring the operations of the budget airlines will simply have run out of cash.
Travel bosses are demanding a support package. Trade bodies Airlines UK and the Airport Operators Association said: ‘A ban on international travel means airlines and airports are closed businesses and will now require financial support.’
Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of Advantage Travel Partnership, the UK’s largest independent travel agent group, said: ‘The ban on international and domestic travel will crucify the travel industry.’ MP Henry Smith, chairman of the cross-party Future of Aviation Group, said: ‘We can’t have a global Britain without a thriving aviation sector and the consequences of failing to act to protect them are unthinkable.’
A Department for Transport spokesman said: ‘Our measures at the border are crucial in avoiding imported cases of coronavirus.’
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