The union highlighted the apparent split within government over the possible introduction of “amber plus”. Unite assistant general secretary for civil air transport, Diana Holland, said: 

“The current traffic light system is not working and there is disagreement within government about how to move forward. While the situation remains uncertain and complex, the government must provide job-saving support to our aviation and travel industry.” 

Unite is advocating for a sliding scale of support based on the number of people travelling. 

“This would allow employers to deploy staff flexibly depending on demand until the crisis is over. Crucially this would prevent more unnecessary redundancies,” Holland said.

Unite has previously warned the sector has been losing staff at a rate of more than 5,000 a month. 

Holland said action needed to be taken now: “With the summer season all but scuppered and travel not expected to return to sustainable levels for the immediate future, the government must follow the lead of our competitor nations and take action to secure jobs and make sure aviation can rebuild safely and sustainably for all our futures.”