Aviation bosses have expressed frustration that the government is still not supporting Covid-19 testing at airports.
The head of Southampton, Aberdeen and Glasgow airports accused ministers of “overseeing the demise of UK aviation”.
And the heads of Virgin Atlantic and Heathrow Airport warned of the huge number of jobs at stake.
Derek Provan, chief executive of AGS Airports, which runs Southampton, Aberdeen and Glasgow, told the BBC that the sector was seeing more job losses than the demise of the coal industry in the 1980s.
Ministers are said to be looking at a two-test system to reduce the risk of someone who recently contracted the virus giving a ‘false negative’ result.
Shai Weiss, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, said testing was ‘essential’ to help kick-start the economy.
A pilot project at Heathrow is currently not in operation because testing has not been endorsed by the government.
John Holland-Kaye, Heathrow chief executive, told the BBC: “I think the government has been very cautious, really focusing on the health crisis and yet we have an unemployment crisis looming.
“The UK government needs to get behind testing as an alternative to quarantine to save millions of jobs in this country.”
A spokesman for the Department for Transport told the BBC: “We provided unprecedented support to the aviation industry – taking early action on airport slots, loans, tax deferrals, and paying people’s wages through the furlough scheme.
“While protecting public health remains our priority, we are working closely with experts to keep our approach to quarantine under constant review.”
