Aberdeen International Airport has announced further job losses will be “inevitable”, as TUI axes more than half of its flights to the north-east following “lack of clarity” from Scottish Government.
The UK’s largest holiday provider has today confirmed that it will reduce its summer programme from Aberdeen this year due to the continued uncertainty surrounding travel.
It comes after the Scottish Government set out a roadmap for the country to gradually come out of lockdown over the next two months.
However, speaking to parliament yesterday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon didn’t provide any specific details on when and how international travel would be allowed to resume as normal.
‘Lack of clarity from government’
In response to the announcement, travel agency Tui has decided to reduce its flights to Aberdeen airport from ten to four each week during the summer.
The company will continue to take customers on summer holidays from the city to Dalaman, Corfu and Palma, but will no longer have an Aberdeen-based aircraft.
Richard Sofer, commercial and business development director at Tui, said: “We know how important our regional flying programme is to our customers and their local communities, which is why we are incredibly sad to confirm we’ve had to reduce our summer holiday programme from Aberdeen.
“We feel that we have no choice, and this is the unfortunate impact of the continued lack of clarity from government, which we know also affects local jobs and families.
“We’d like to thank our local customers and colleagues for their patience, understanding and ongoing support throughout these difficult times, and we are really looking forward to resuming our full holiday programme from Aberdeen soon.”
Need for better recovery plan
Derek Provan, chief executive of AGS Airports, said more needed to be done with the industry to develop an effective recovery plan from what has been a devastating year for the sector.
He said: “This is hugely disappointing news from TUI, however, the airline has stated it has been left with no choice due to the lack of certainty from the Scottish Government.
“Unfortunately, further job losses will be inevitable unless government works with industry to develop a recovery plan.
“We urgently need an exit plan that sets out how we can work towards the safe restart of international travel.
“This is exactly what is happening in England where, following the Prime Minister’s announcement on Monday, airlines are already seeing a huge spike in demand.”
On Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced international trips could potentially resume from May 17, if there was no resurgence in coronavirus and vaccination programmes went well.
Airlines and travel companies – including EasyJet, Ryanair, Tui and Thomas Cook – have since reported a surge in holiday bookings to a range of summer destinations.
In response to Tui’s announcement, a Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We want overseas holidays to resume as soon as it is safe and we will not keep the current restrictions in place a day longer than is necessary.
“But, as the First Minister has made clear, it is too soon to put a date on when that may be possible.
“We have extended the 100% non-domestic rates relief for the aviation sector for all of 2021-22 and we’re also working with airports on route recovery, to help rebuild connectivity for business and tourism once we are able to safely lift travel restrictions. This will help win back routes and employment opportunities.
“The vaccination programme is a significant milestone in our fight against the virus and we are focused on protecting and creating jobs across the economy.
“On top of £3 billion in immediate support for business, we have committed more than £1.2 billion to economic recovery with further investment set out in our draft budget.”
