Support the British aviation industry during the COVID-19 outbreak

As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak there are travel bans imposed by many countries, there is a disastrous potential impact on our Aviation Industry. Without the Government’s help there could be an unprecedented crisis, with thousands of jobs under threat.

Unite, the UK’s largest union, has devised a plan which it believes the Government must adopt to ensure the industry survives: https://unitetheunion.org/news-events/news/2020/march/coronavirus-government-must-act-now-to-protect-aviation-jobs/

This calls on the Government to help cover workers’ pay, extend loans to the aviation industry, delay payment of taxes and duties, and support routes through public subsidy. Our UK Government should take action to save the British Aviation Industry.

The Government has announced a range of measures to support companies impacted by COVID-19, including the aviation industry. These measures include:

• Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) – providing funding to businesses to help businesses across a range of sectors to pay wages and suppliers, even while experiencing severe disruption to cashflows.

• “Time to Pay” - HMRC is ready to help all businesses and self-employed individuals, experiencing temporary financial difficulties due to coronavirus, including “Time to Pay” arrangements, which allows the payment of taxes to be deferred.

• Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme - launched on 20 April, this helps firms continue to keep people in employment by allowing businesses to put workers on temporary leave. The government will pay cash grants of 80% of wages up to a cap of £2,500, providing workers stay employed. The Scheme will cover the cost of wages backdated to 1 March. It was initially open for at least three months and it has now been extended to the end of June. The option remains to extend for longer if necessary. There is no limit on the amount of funding available for the scheme, and all UK-wide employers with a PAYE scheme will be eligible. Further guidance will be set out in due course.

• Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme - has been created to support long-term viable small and medium sized businesses who may need to respond to cash-flow pressures by seeking additional finance. To be eligible, a business must be based in the UK and be impacted by COVID-19, have an annual turnover of no more than £45 million, and be seeking a loan up to £5 million. The scheme is delivered through commercial lenders, backed by the government-owned British Business Bank. There are more than 40 accredited lenders able to offer the scheme, including all the major banks.