Manchester Airport workers join #TravelDayOfAction
The Travel Day of Action comes amid Manchester Airport's legal challenge over claims the Government has a lack of transparency over travel rules.
Last updated 23rd Jun 2021
Staff at Manchester Airport are mimicking a pre-pandemic day of flying on social media, as part of a nationwide protest at the government’s handling of international travel.
They're posting pictures of themselves on Twitter, to mark every single flight that would have taken off on 23rd June 2019.
Today, just 47 aircraft will depart Manchester compared with 319 departures before the pandemic struck.
An estimated 5,600 passengers will pass through Manchester's terminals this year, compared with 104,464 two years earlier.
Staff are supporting a national day of action - coordinated by aviation and travel industry trade bodies - to protest against the lack of support from government on the re-opening of international travel.
Campaigners are also hoping to put pressure on the UK government to support a safe return to international travel in time for the peak summer period.
They have been photographed holding placards with the campaign’s hashtag #traveldayofaction, and one airport worker will be posted on the airports’ social media channels at the exact time each flight would have taken off in 2019, along with the relevant flight code.
At the same time, special activity will take place at each airport site:
A peaceful protest has also been held outside Terminal Three at Manchester Airport.
'We have been left with no option'
Charlie Cornish, MAG Group CEO, said:
“Aviation has been the sector hardest hit by the pandemic, yet government does not seem to appreciate its economic value or trust its own system for the restart of international travel.
“Despite holding back the recovery of an industry that supports more than 1m jobs, and generates billions of pounds of value, there has been nowhere near the level of support offered to other parts of the economy.
“The whole of the travel industry recognises the need to protect public health and has supported every measure government has required in response to Covid-19.
“Together with airlines, we have been left with no option but to challenge the Government’s lack of transparency, and to protest against the stifling of our recovery through this day of action.”
It comes after MAG launched a legal challenge – supported by a number of major airlines – against the government’s lack of transparency when making decisions about the countries categorised as red, amber or green in its traffic light system.