The government has opened its Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme for a third time.
Up to £4 million in support is available to help airports with their fixed costs as they continue to battle with the impact of Covid-19, and the latest Omicron variant, on the travel industry.
To prove their eligibility, airports and ground handling companies must demonstrate a forecasted loss for the six months to March 31, 2022. Airports must have operated at least 12 scheduled commercial flights in 2019. The closing date for applications is January 18.
Grants can be used for airports’ running costs, payments for services such as utilities, airfield maintenance and security, ground handling costs, insurance and business rates for the 2021 or 2022 financial year.
Specific support for airports was granted a day after the chancellor signed off a £1 billion support package for the hospitality and leisure sectors, and pumped £102 million into the Additional Restrictions Grants scheme, which travel agencies can access at the discretion of their local councils.
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Aviation and maritime minister Robert Courts tweeted to confirm the move and shared a link for how airports can apply.
He said: “We’ve opened up the Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme for a third time to provide commercial airports and ground handlers with up to £4 million in support to help with their fixed costs.”
We’ve opened up the Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme for a third time to provide commercial airports & ground handlers with up to £4m in support to help with their fixed costs
More information on how to apply is available here: https://t.co/meILJGGeqW
— Robert Courts MP (@robertcourts) December 22, 2021
Previous iterations of the scheme were completed in June 2021 and February 2021. It was first launched in January 2021.