ANITA blasts government’s “complete lack of consultation with, and regard for our industry” and says “executive in Northern Ireland must now stop ignoring our pleas for help before it is too late”.
Damian Murphy from ANITA said: “A few days ago Grant Shapps spoke publicly on the subject of testing and clearly stated that return pre-departure tests would not be introduced in the UK.
“Well just two days later and another complete u-turn by them and we get just a few days notice on their re-introduction. We totally accept that the well-being and safety of all travellers is paramount and hopefully the current tests required can be removed as soon as possible, however, it is the complete lack of consultation with, and regard for our industry that is the biggest problem.
“The government in the UK and our own executive in Northern Ireland must now stop ignoring our pleas for help before it is too late. Jobs, livelihoods and indeed travel businesses themselves are all now at risk and the governments must now step up and provide some much needed financial support for our sector before it’s too late.”
