Covid-19 updates
COVID-19 Update 61
Monday 15 June 2020
Dear AOA Member,
I hope you managed to enjoy the great weather this weekend.
The Government, late on Friday, released detailed guidance on how the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) would work between the end of June and the end of October, when the scheme ends. The guidance should help to confirm the amount of employees that employers can have on furlough or bring back to part-time work from the 1 July, and how employers can amend claims. As mentioned in last week’s update, parents returning from maternity, paternity, shared parental, adoption and parental bereavement leave after the 10 June are exempt from the cut-off date for new entrants to the CJRS.
Public pressure on the Government continued over the weekend with the release of the Transport Select Committee’s report into the impact of COVID-19 on the aviation sector. The headlines of the report called for the abandonment of the Government’s quarantine policy, the development of a clear Government strategy for the recovery of the sector and criticised the behaviour of BA on the employment issues that have been in the media recently.
AOA joined an operational call for airports with the Department for Transport this afternoon. Officials assured participants that the aviation health guidance released last week would be a live document, to be updated if and when overarching Government guidance on matters changed, such as the much rumoured deviation from the current 2 metre distancing rule. DfT were also able to report that they had liaised with EASA regarding the list of UK airports which EASA deemed would require an additional layer of biosecurity if EASA airports were receiving passengers from them. The UK government were not consulted on the initial draft list, but it is understood from ACI EUROPE that a number of EU member state governments were also not informed of the list. The AOA will continue to keep a watching brief on this issue, especially if it informs further policy-making in EU jurisdictions.
Elsewhere, the AOA coordinated with industry partners on further media moments to keep the pressure on Government regarding the quarantine measures. This remains our number one policy priority.
Finally, as a reminder, as of today, face coverings are mandatory on all public transport in the UK.
Best wishes,
Karen Dee
Chief Executive
