Business travellers cancelling flights due to travel restrictions, says Heathrow

Britain’s busiest airport expects traffic to recover next year to only 55 per cent of pre-pandemic levels

Better days: Heathrow in 2006, when it handled more international passengers than any other airport (Simon Calder)

Many business travellers are cancelling trips because of new travel restrictions, Heathrow bosses say.

The November traffic figures for Britain’s busiest airport show demand still at just 40 per cent of pre-pandemic levels – even though the US opened up to European travellers early in the month.

Heathrow’s statement said: “High level of cancellations by business travellers concerned about being trapped overseas because of pre-departure testing shows the potential harm to the economy of travel restrictions.”

The airport is urging the government “to reduce restrictions as soon as it is safe to do so”. The health secretary, Sajid Javid, told MPs this week that all international travel restrictions could end “very soon”.

Heathrow is also calling for UK nationals from red list countries to be allowed to isolate at home. At present all arrivals from 11 African nations must pay up to £2,285 for 11 nights in self-isolation.

The airport’s chief executive, John Holland-Kaye, said: “By allowing Brits to isolate at home, ministers can make sure they are reunited with their loved ones this Christmas.

“It would send a strong signal that restrictions on travel will be removed as soon as safely possible to give passengers the confidence to book for 2022, opening up thousands of new jobs for local people at Heathrow.  Let’s reunite families for Christmas.”

On Wednesday the prime minister said the government is considering allowing this option.

Heathrow expects traffic to recover next year to only 55 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. The airlines’ international trade body, Iata, predicts global passenger numbers in 2022 will be about 60 per cent of 2019 levels.

The airport’s statement said: “We do not expect that international travel will recover to 2019 levels until at least all travel restrictions (including testing) are removed from all the markets that we serve, at both ends of the route, and there is no risk of new restrictions, such as quarantine, being imposed.

“This is likely to be several years away.”