Incoming British Airways CEO Sean Doyle has used his first
public engagement to criticise government for their inaction on getting airline
passengers flying again, particularly on vitally important UK-US routes.
Delivering the keynote address at Airlines 2050: Beyond
the Crisis, Doyle - who has replaced former CEO Alex Cruz - said that the loss in trade between the UK and the US is
predicted to be £45.8 billion due to closed borders.
“Air connectivity between the UK and the USA is fundamental
for supporting economic growth and trade on both sides of the Atlantic. Pre-Covid, BA flew to 30 destinations in the US; now it
is less than half that. Normally we fly to New York 12 times a day; now we fly twice a day with fewer than 200 passengers most days,” he said.
Doyle said that the way forward for reopening US-UK trade is
by introducing pre-departure Covid testing.
“We need an agreement between the UK and US governments to reopen
without blanket quarantine measures,“ he said. “We do not believe quarantine is
the solution. We believe the best way to reassure people is to introduce
a reliable and affordable test before flying. For the UK this approach reduces
the stress on NHS testing systems within the UK and on policing the quarantine
system."
He added, “At the moment we are not getting any support or
action and we are not hearing from governments what they are thinking. Airlines
and industry bodies like IATA are offering their expertise to develop passports.
We do not see government doing any of this.”
Doyle finished his address by saying, “I need to be clear
that as an industry we will not see beyond this crisis if we do not first address
the issue of who we get people flying again.”