Some relief at last late yesterday for Britain’s battered and bruised travel industry as costly testing requirements for many international arrivals into England were scrapped in favour of “simpler, cheaper rules” for those who are fully vaccinated.
The Department for Transport said the new system will come into effect from October 4 in what it no doubt hopes will avert further collapse across the airline and holiday sectors after the furlough programme comes to an end on September 30. Many had warned they would not survive another winter of onerous rules and red tape.
The traffic light system has been replaced with destinations listed as either “red” or OK for travel, with a reduction in the number of countries on the red list. Those who are double-vaccinated will no longer have to take a Covid test before arriving in England from a green-list country, and the required test within two days after arrival has been downgraded to a cheaper lateral flow assay from the more costly PCR test.
READ MORE: England scraps Amber travel list and PCR tests no longer required in rule shake-up
The question is whether – rather like previous last-minute policy changes to extend the furlough programme – this has come in time to stave off further substantial job losses. Industry body ABTA warned this past week that more than two-thirds of its members were already anticipating a new wave of cuts that would take the total number of jobs lost in the UK’s outbound travel sector to nearly 100,000, a figure that rises to 226,000 once the impact on the supply chain is included.
By law, any employers making large-scale redundancies by the start of next month must now already be in consultations with staff. As witnessed in the past, these processes aren’t readily thrown into reverse.
And of course the rules in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland remain a matter for their devolved administrations. Travel bosses are no doubt eager to see them follow England’s lead.
READ MORE: Tennent's brewer returns to profit as new chairman revealed
Elsewhere this past week, there was a liberal scattering of positive news amid more downbeat and persistent talk of labour shortages, wage inflation and higher shop prices.
Business editor Ian McConnell reports that the Scottish economy grew by 4.7 per cent during the three months to June, with easing lockdown restrictions boosting gross domestic product by 21.7%. Scottish Economy Secretary Kate Forbes said the data show the country’s economy is recovering, though “obstacles” remain for sectors such as retail, tourism and hospitality.
Dublin-based C&C Group, the owner of Tennent’s Lager, returned to profitability during the six months to the end of August and has appointed Scottish brewing and pubs veteran Ralph Findlay as its new chairman.
READ MORE: Scottish investment veteran Alan Steel passes away
In a story from business correspondent Mark Williamson, the European renewable heavyweights behind the Floating Energy Allyance partnership outlined plans to create 3,900 jobs in Scotland as part of their floating windfarm project. Their application has been submitted through the landmark ScotWind licensing round.
In the field of technology, the University of Edinburgh has signed a multi-million pound licensing deal with US drug firm Nuvectis Pharma to advance research into new medicines for hard-to-treat cancers.
And on a final sombre note, it was announced yesterday that Scottish investment veteran Alan Steel has died at the age of 74 after a month-long battle with Covid.
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