Aviation and maritime minister Robert Courts pulled out of Abta’s Travel Matters conference on Tuesday (22 June) due to a diary clash.
Courts had been due to give an address on recovery of UK aviation and travel and then appear at a face-to-face session with LBC’s Tom Swarbrick.
However, during his opening address, Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer confirmed Abta learned last week Courts would not be attending due to a "diary clash".
Both he and Tui UK managing director Andrew Flintham branded the no-show "disappointing", with Tanzer stressing how it underlined the lack of a central figure in government representing outbound travel.