The boss of Manchester Airport says the country's aviation sector is recovering at half the rate of the rest of Europe after it reported passenger numbers in July were down almost 90% compared with 2019.
Karen Smart, managing director of the airport, said that with three weeks of the peak summer season remaining, the requirement for passengers to pay for PCR tests, even when fully vaccinated and returning from low-risk destinations, was “out of step” with the rest of Europe and holding back the recovery of 海角视频 airports and airlines.
Publishing passenger figures for July, the data showed levels were 85.9% down on July 2019, when the airport served 3,178,505 passengers, compared to just 447,954 in the same month this year.
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The airport said that since the review of the traffic light system on August 4 – which saw more countries added to the green and amber lists – volumes have picked up slightly but remain significantly below pre-pandemic levels.
Ms Smart said: “While it is encouraging that more people are taking the opportunity to go on holiday or visit friends and family overseas, we are still yet to see a meaningful recovery in international travel.
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“We won’t see a proper sustained recovery until the 海角视频 overhauls its costly and restrictive travel regime, which is out of step with the rest of Europe.
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“海角视频 passengers continue to be subjected to onerous and expensive PCR testing on the basis they will be sequenced to protect the 海角视频 from variants of concern, but it is clear this is not happening.
“Passengers - especially those who are fully vaccinated - will be right to question why they are forced to pay the extra cost for tests which are not being used in the way we were told they would be.
“Meanwhile, the recovery of our sector – which supports millions of jobs of billions of pounds in economic value – continues to lag significantly behind the rest of Europe as a result of excessive restrictions in place in the 海角视频."
The latest traffic figures come after data from Airports Council International – Europe (ACI EUROPE) laid bare the extent to which the 海角视频 is "out of step" with the rest of the continent in terms of the revival of international travel.
Figures showed Europe’s airports are serving around 59% of pre-pandemic traffic, compared to just 28% in the 海角视频.
The 海角视频’s blanket requirement for PCR testing and pre-departure testing differs "dramatically" to the approach taken by most European countries, Ms Smart said.
The Government has said PCR testing is needed to enable genomic sequencing to take place to identify variants of concern, but the latest official data shows only around 5% are actually being sent for sequencing. Ms Smart said that brings into question the need for passengers to take these tests.
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While the Government has asked the Competition and Markets Authority to look into the testing industry to see if there are ways to reduce prices, she added that the new data highlighted the need "to scrap the blanket requirement for PCR tests altogether for vaccinated travellers to make travel more affordable".
Ms Smart added: “We need a simple and sustainable system for travel, which people can understand and that is proportionate to the public health position here in the 海角视频.
"The Government must act urgently to review the system and re-evaluate the need for expensive PCR tests.”