UK MPs call for climate conditions on airline bailouts

Bailouts to help UK airlines deal with the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic should be linked to agreements to reduce emissions, according to a cross-party group of MPs in the country. The 20 MPs from six different parties, including the ruling Conservatives, have written to Chancellor Rishi Sunak, urging him to extend special loans and grants to the sector in order to protect jobs. However, they also stipulated that the bailout should be linked to strict commitments from companies to refund customers whose plans have been disrupted, to abandon dividends and to increase efforts to tackle climate change.

British airlines should be offered a coronavirus bailout in exchange for agreeing to slash carbon emissions in years to come, a cross-party group of MPs has urged the Government.

Aviation bosses have claimed the sector risks collapsing altogether thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, with passenger numbers down to near zero and travel restrictions likely to continue around the world for months at least.

Virgin Atlantic has led calls for urgent financial support from the Treasury, warning it could go out of business without an emergency loan.

In a letter to Rishi Sunak, 20 MPs from six different parties including the Conservatives called on the Chancellor to guarantee the future of troubled airlines by extending special loans and grants to the sector in order to protect thousands of jobs.

But they added the bailout should be tied to strict commitments from the affected companies to offer proper refunds to customers whose travel plans have fallen through, scrap dividends to taxpayers and step up their efforts to tackle climate change.

‘Do more’

The letter said: “To ensure that all travel companies do more to tackle the climate crisis, they must be obliged to follow in the footsteps of many in the industry that have implemented ambitious carbon offsetting schemes.

“Airlines, airports and travel operators are one of the biggest single contributors to global emissions and they must be made to do more. If public money is used to save them, they must be required by law to do more to tackle climate change.”

Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney, who drew up the letter, told i: “The Government must urgently resolve the gaps in their plans and come forward with a bespoke package to airlines and travel operators to stop job losses. But support should come at a price.

“Airlines, airports and travel operators are one of the biggest single contributors to global emissions and they must be made to do more to tackle climate change.”

Bespoke support

The Treasury has signalled that it is more likely to offer “bespoke support” to individual companies rather than bailing out the industry as a whole, to avoid funnelling taxpayer funds to firms which risked failing even before the Covid-19 crisis.

A spokesman said: “The aviation sector is important to the UK economy and can draw upon the unprecedented package of measures announced by the Government – including schemes to raise capital, flexibilities with tax bills, and financial support for employees.

“We are working with the sector and will consider the situation of individual firms, whilst balancing our commitment to our climate change targets, including reaching net zero by 2050.”

UK Aviation, the industry’s representative body, is likely to resist any calls to tie state funding to future commitments.

In a statement, the group said: “No other sector – transport or otherwise – has been asked to attach conditions to any economic support package to deal with the devastating impacts of Covid-19, and if we want our economy to grow once we enter the restart and recovery period we will need our aviation sector more than ever.” It added that airlines had already laid out a plan to reach net zero emissions by 2050.