Heathrow touts U.K. to lead long-haul flight revival

Britain can become the first country to resume mass international travel, building on its early roll-out of coronavirus vaccinations, according to the head of London Heathrow airport.

As the U.K. makes progress in battling Covid-19 and curbs are removed, long-haul travel to other low-risk nations is likely to recover, Chief Executive Officer John Holland-Kaye said in an interview Wednesday. He cited Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and even China as examples.

“We will see a patchwork reopening of long-haul markets depending on the progress of vaccinations,” the CEO said.

The pandemic wiped out almost two-thirds of revenue at what was previously Europe’s busiest airport, and pushed the hub to a 2 billion-pound ($2.8 billion) loss last year, Heathrow said Wednesday in a statement.

But Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s tentative plan to resume flights as early as May 17 gives the nation a chance to get people flying before rival economies. Heathrow aims to recover ground lost to European rivals including Paris Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam Schiphol and Frankfurt.

An early return of mass trans-Atlantic travel remains unlikely, though there should be progress some time this summer, Holland-Kaye said. The U.S. is Heathrow’s biggest market, accounting for 20% of passengers.

Airline shares surged this week on Johnson’s plan, announced Monday, to gradually release the U.K. economy from lockdown.

Johnson has a unique opportunity to shape a common international standard for safe travel with other world leaders when he hosts the G7 summit in June, Holland-Kaye said.

The CEO said said Britain could potentially return to curb-free travel corridors for the lowest-risk nations, with testing retained for other countries and quarantines left in place for people coming from so-called red list locations.

“We will work with the global travel task-force so that Britain can become the first country in the world to safely restart international travel and trade at scale,” he said.

The CEO reiterated calls for support for aviation in the U.K. budget next month, including 100% business rates relief, an extension to furlough payments, and reversing a tourist tax.