Before Rishi Sunak announced the furloughing scheme, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary suggested that bankrolling staff wages while services are grounded would suffice.
Wizz Air, the London-listed central and eastern European airline, said on Tuesday that it had a “very strong” balance sheet and “excellent” cash reserves of £1.3bn.
In a joint statement last week, aerospace body ADS, Airlines UK and the Airports Operators Association said that “further urgent steps and better coordinated actions are urgently needed to support our industry’s and thus the UK’s future recovery”.
Across the Channel, governments have stepped in with bespoke financial support. Germany has handed Tui, the world’s biggest travel agent, a £1.6bn bailout, but some analysts fear this will not be enough.
Meanwhile, shareholders in Norwegian will hand over their stock to the government and lenders if banks sign up to a rescue of the heavily indebted airline.
ADS, Airlines UK and the Airports Operators Association said: “Other countries are acting decisively, with unprecedented financial support for airports and airlines in the US, Australia, France, Norway and many other countries.
“Without clear steps by the UK Government, including those outlined above, the UK aviation, aerospace and travel sectors are at risk of being left behind in the recovery.”
The aviation industry will continue to lobby for change. Discussions with baggage handlers and ground crew – companies such as John Menzies, Swissport and Dnata – are continuing. Insiders are hopeful that additional support could be coming their way. These are the companies that need to keep staff on despite many planes being parked up at airports.
Beyond this, ministers appear to be sticking to the narrative that bespoke intervention on behalf of taxpayers will only be forthcoming as a last resort. Billions of pounds will not be winging their way any time soon.