These were the opening remarks of Henry Smith, MP for Crawley, in a Westminster debate discussing support for the aviation, tourism and travel industries, last month.
Smith, who sponsored the debate, noted many of the 1.5 million employed in the sector had lost their jobs over the last 15 months and pointed out “around 50% of people in the sector are still on furlough, which comes to an end in September”.
“I fear if travel, aviation and tourism can’t pick up in a meaningful way, many more people in the sector currently on furlough will lose their jobs,” he added.
