- Conservative Government to provide £100 million to support airports as they recover from coronavirus.
- East Midlands International to receive up to £8 million – enough to cover its entire Business Rates bill this year.
Dr Luke Evans, the Member of Parliament for Bosworth, has expressed his delight as the lifting of national coronavirus restrictions has resulted in the announcement of two important additional initiatives for the aviation sector in England.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced the with effect from 15 December travellers returning from overseas will be given the option of having a coronavirus test after five days in isolation, with a negative test releasing them from the need to isolate for any longer.
In a related move Mr Shapps has announced that both Birmingham and East Midlands International Airport will receive a Government grant of up to £8 million, helping to protect jobs and the local economy.
The funding will be equivalent to the Business Rates that the airport would otherwise have to pay – meaning that both Birmingham and East Midlands will pay nothing in Business Rates in 2020-21. The funding will also be used to support ground handlers.
Combined, the new funding and quarantine measures will give a much-needed boost to the aviation sector, which has faced a challenging year after passenger numbers severely declined during the coronavirus pandemic.
Airports, airlines and other aviation businesses have also been able to draw on the Government’s unprecedented support, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Business Interruption Loans. In total, the aviation and aerospace sectors have received over £9 billion in support.
Commenting, Dr Luke Evans said:
“Many residents in my constituency work within the aviation sector, this year has been truly dreadful for them as air travel has been drastically reduced, I am delighted that new quarantine rules and help with business rates will help the sector to protect jobs during these challenging times.
“This Conservative Government has provided unprecedented levels of support to protect jobs and businesses through the pandemic, and this latest support will be hugely important for helping Hinckley and Bosworth to build back better after coronavirus.”