The transport committee said international travel had been "singled out" and that the government must now take steps to "future-proof" the aviation sector by incorporating it into any future pandemic resilience planning "to provide travellers and the industry with predictability and transparency".

Last week, it was revealed the bill for the government’s interventions on international travel during the pandemic would run to around £500 million.

On Monday (25 April), the committee – chaired by Conservative MP Huw Merriman – released UK aviation: Reform for Take-off, an in-depth report into the government’s actions on international travel during the pandemic and how it can now support the sector’s recovery.

"The report concludes the government’s restrictions on air travel throughout the pandemic were disproportionate to the risks to public health, causing a severe financial shock to the sector," said the committee.

"The decision-making process was not transparent or consistent, nor based on scientific consensus. The arbitrary nature of 15 different changes to restrictions imposed on travellers also left them struggling to navigate a confusing ‘traffic-light’ system, access affordable testing and secure refunds."

Its key demands include a new international travel toolkit prioritising "transparency and proportionate action", one that is evidenced by the advice and analysis used by ministers to impose restrictions and that balances public health considerations and economic factors. Additionally, the committee is calling for a global taskforce to promote standard international travel requirements.

Elsewhere, the committee also criticised the government’s response to the operational crisis that has beset the airport sector in recent weeks with airports struggling to staff up sufficiently to meet demand owing to high levels of Covid sickness, among other factors.

Airport passenger numbers increased to their highest level for two years in April, which impacted the Easter getaway. The committee said it was wrong for the government to lay blame on the aviation sector when its ability to function normally had been affected by restrictions "and a lack of certainty offered by ministers".

“In the face of a global pandemic, today’s report acknowledges the difficult position faced by government," said Merriman. "However, government action was inconsistent. It left industry and passengers confused and unable to plan ahead.

"This resulted in a severe economic deficit for the aviation sector. Thousands of people lost their jobs. Many more could not visit their loved ones. England’s coronavirus restrictions on international travel were imposed with no overall assessment of their impact – a point underlined by the recent report from the National Audit Office."

Merriman said now that all Covid travel restrictions had been lifted, it was up to ministers to work on protection the sector from future economic shocks and reassure passenger future restrictions will only be implemented "in extreme circumstances".

"Legislation is urgently needed to give the industry more flexibility to recruit new staff for the summer, to give the regulator more teeth to intervene on behalf of consumers and to provide protection from airline insolvencies," said Merriman.

“Today we set out sensible recommendations with the aim of helping government to achieve this. Above all, we want ministers to be transparent with industry and passengers. Over Easter, we witnessed a sector in the early stages of recovery and vulnerable to disruption. The increase in demand is encouraging but a sustained and supportive approach from government is vital to nurse the sector back to recovery.”

CAA powers

The committee’s recommendations cover testing, consumer rights, domestic air travel, sustainable aviation and slot rules. Its key demands include:

• Publishing the aviation recovery plan as a priority and no later than 1 June 2022;
• Introducing an Airline Insolvency Bill in the next session of parliament to better protect consumers, employees and taxpayers;
• Upgrade the power of the Civil Aviation Authority to impose financial penalties on airlines that do not refund customers when required. Powers to enforce potential environmental mandates should also be reviewed;
• Intervene to establish safe and affordable coronavirus testing options for travel, still required by other countries;
• Implement more flexible rules on Public Service Obligation routes and Air Passenger Duty to improve connectivity between the four UK nations;
• Urgently address the delivery of the airspace modernisation strategy to support the government’s decarbonisation targets; and
• Delay proposed landing charge increases at Heathrow airport by one year to monitor the progress of the sector’s recovery.