The SPAA has accused the Scottish and UK governments of “playing games” after Portugal was removed from Scotland’s list of quarantine-exempt countries but no change occurred for England.
Vice-president Mike Tibbert slammed Holyrood and Westminster for giving “half announcements and teasers” to consumers and the travel industry when it came to how ministers delivered their policies on travel.
“The entire travel sector and the travelling public need consistency and clear, well-timed messaging, not a drip, drip of what might or might not happen and which country might be added to or removed from the safe list,” he said.
“But the toing and froing on the safe list versus quarantine is actually distracting from the main issue which is the total lack of immediate support for the travel sector and the complete absence of a strategic plan to save future travel.”
Tibbert warned that should Scotland’s air connectivity be lost due to the damaging of its travel sector, “it will be years before we can rebuild”.
“Is the government considering the impact this will have on Scottish and UK economy? It’s time that everyone realised this is not just about sun-seeking holidaymakers and is everything about the devastation this will have on our ability to do business with the rest of the world and vice versa,” he added.