How Boris Johnson’s half-baked coronavirus travel policy wound up uniting the divided airline industry

For once the aviation sector is on the same page with open contempt for a policy that will wreck millions of holidays this summer, writes Simon Calder

A quarantine for arrivals could have a 'devastating' effect on the economy, aviation chiefs have warned (Getty)

“Everybody understands what we are trying to do together.” So said the prime minister as he presented the government’s “Covid-19 recovery strategy” to the House of Commons, triggering a chorus of derision among the bosses of the UK’s airlines and airports.

Britain has by far the best and most competitive aviation industry in Europe, and arguably the world. British Airways faces ferocious short-haul competition from easyJet, Jet2 and Ryanair, and takes on Virgin Atlantic and dozens of other carriers on intercontinental routes.

Up to the end of 2019, London was the undisputed air capital of the world. Despite decades of foot-dragging on airport expansion, Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton collectively handled over 150 million passengers – far more than New York, Tokyo or Beijing.