Industry should be applauded
The fallout from last week’s terror alert will be felt across the travel industry for some time.
While the full scale of the drama was being played out at Stansted, Gatwick and Heathrow, the impact of what has been a week of 24-hour rolling news coverage will have affected travel agencies and operators countrywide.
The terror alert could not have come at a worse time for the industry. Not only did it serve as an all too painful reminder of last year’s July bombings and September 11, but it comes at the height of the season when major operators are already reporting a staggering one million holidays unsold.
The collapse of Tapestry Holidays is a further reminder of the tightrope many companies are already walking, even without the PR disaster of a peak holiday terrorist alert.
The averted attack exposed the gulf that still exists between what our security forces regard as the appropriate action to take, and the practical needs of the travel industry and airlines to continue providing a service to the public.
Tighter airport security measures may be necessary but they need to be costed out to ensure it is not the travel sector and the public that bears the brunt of a national security clampdown.
But the events of the last week have once again shown the resilience and ability of the industry to cope in adversity – and with the minimum of fuss.
While our national media focused on the hundreds of flights cancelled by scheduled and no frills airlines, major operators were quietly sending the vast majority of charter passengers on their way and mostly on time.
This is a good news message the industry should publicise. Book with a charter and you will get your holiday come what may.
And as Travel Weekly reported last week, there are still plenty of people who are determined to take holidays, get on aircraft and carry on as normal.
Fortunately for them, the British travel industry is doing all it can to ensure they can.