STAFF at Manchester Airport have been taking part in a national day of action by the travel industry.

Industry body Abta, who is leading the action estimates that 195,000 travel jobs have been lost during the coronavirus pandemic or are at risk and accused ministers of failing to deliver a restart to travel, by “undermining” the traffic light system.

It argues there no viable major tourist destinations on the quarantine-free green list, and the Government has urged people to avoid holidays to locations on the amber list.

Manchester Airport staff were joined by colleagues from London Stansted and East Midlands Airports - who are part of Manchester Airports Group (MAG) - by mimicking a pre-pandemic day of flying on social media.

Staff members have posted pictures of themselves on Twitter throughout the day, to mark every single flight that would have taken off on June 23 2019.

Today (June 23) just 47 aircraft will depart from Manchester compared with 319 from the same date two years ago.

Those stark figures are highlighted further with just an estimated 5,600 people passing through the airport's terminals, compared to 104,464 two years before.

Staff have been photographed holding placards with the campaign’s hashtag #traveldayofaction, and one airport worker will be posted on the airports’ social media channels at the exact time each flight would have taken off in 2019, along with the relevant flight code.

There was also a peaceful protest outside of Terminal Three, organised by the Unite Union.

Northwich Guardian: Manchester Airport was almost deserted today with just a fraction of the number of passengers there was two years ago

Manchester Airport was almost deserted today with just a fraction of the number of passengers passing through as there was two years ago

Charlie Cornish, MAG Group CEO, said: “Aviation has been the sector hardest hit by the pandemic, yet government does not seem to appreciate its economic value or trust its own system for the restart of international travel.

“Despite holding back the recovery of an industry that supports more than one million jobs, and generates billions of pounds of value, there has been nowhere near the level of support offered to other parts of the economy.

“The whole of the travel industry recognises the need to protect public health and has supported every measure government has required in response to Covid-19.

“However, with so much at stake, it is simply unacceptable that government refuses to explain why it is not opening up travel to many popular destinations.

“Together with airlines, we have been left with no option but to challenge the Government’s lack of transparency, and to protest against the stifling of our recovery through this day of action.”

Trade bodies from across the aviation and travel industries are coming together for the Travel Day of Action (#traveldayofaction) to put pressure on the UK government to support a safe return to international travel in time for the peak summer period.

The day of action is timed to take place ahead of when the government is expected to discuss and decide on the next steps for international travel on Thursday.

It comes after MAG launched a legal challenge – supported by a number of major airlines – against the government’s lack of transparency when making decisions about the countries categorised as red, amber or green in its traffic light system.

All parts of the travel industry – every airline, airport, tour operator, travel agent, supplier and partner – are encouraged to get involved and support the activities of the day.

There are a range of activities to take part in the Travel Day of Action including meeting with MPs as part of an organised lobby in Westminster, Edinburgh, or Belfast, or locally in their stores or business premises, or by holding a virtual meeting.