Heathrow boss warns of 25,000 job losses as 14-day quarantine system introduced

About 25,000 jobs could be at risk at Heathrow Airport, its chief executive has warned, as new quarantine measures for international arrivals come into force.

Passengers arriving in the UK from Monday will need to self-isolate for 14 days under the latest Government measure to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

There has been widespread concern that this will cause huge damage to the travel and aviation sectors as they recover from pandemic.

Speaking to the City AM podcast, The City View, Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye said he was now having to consider job cuts at the west London airport.

Asked if he would also have to consider the future of a third of his workforce, Mr Holland-Kaye replied: “That’s exactly the right kind of number.> “And I don’t want to see that happen. But we’ll have to make that decision, within the next couple of weeks.”> Mr Holland-Kaye said airport passenger numbers for most of April, May and June were between 5,000 to 7,000 each day.

In 2018, an average of 219,458 people were passing through Heathrow each day.>Speaking about the new quarantine measures, he said:

Mr Holland-Kaye said the industry needs the Government to move quickly and in a “co-ordinated” way to reopen the aviation sector.