A total of 536,000 direct jobs throughout Great Britain are supported by the sector, with average salaries 22-60% above national average, according to research by York Aviation for Airlines UK.

The most heavily dependent area was that around Heathrow, with 16,000 employed in the sector. Crawley, near Gatwick, accounted for more than 10,000. Next came Derby South, with 7,000 engineering jobs and then the Manchester constituency of Wythenshawe and Sale East, with 4,400 jobs.

Airlines UK said: “These numbers exclude those in jobs that would not exist without aviation, such as airport retail, hotels, or tourism, so the overall jobs impact will be even higher.”

The organisation’s chief executive Tim Alderslade added: “Almost every constituency in the UK is impacted, and many are truly dependant on the well-paid jobs aviation generates.”

The research found only three constituencies in the country had fewer than 100 people employed in aviation, with airline jobs paying an average of £27,600 to £35,900.

Alderslade added: “First and foremost, safeguarding these livelihoods means getting the sector moving again in a proper way, reopening international travel as our rivals across Europe are doing rather than the piecemeal approach we have currently. 

“But it will also require additional, dedicated economic support including furlough extension that recognises aviation’s ongoing crisis, and our longer road to recovery than almost all other sectors.”