Dear Editor

Aviation will be critical to the UK’s economic recovery post COVID-19. Without Heathrow, Britain’s only hub airport, there will be no recovery.

As local businesses in west London we feel compelled to tell the government that it needs to do more to support our aviation, or our local economy faces tens of thousands of job losses and the failure of countless businesses.

The government needs to appreciate the importance of Heathrow to businesses and local jobs. It is the UK’s biggest port, the largest rate payer and by far the biggest local employer. Over 100,000 jobs are in its local supply chain.

The government’s imposition of a 14-day quarantine on people arriving in Britain is only making things worse. We call on the government to scrap this unenforceable policy immediately and introduce ‘air bridges’ to support safe travel and trade to low risk countries.

It is in the government’s power to protect west London’s economy from ruin. We need it to act, fast.

Yours Sincerely,