Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the (a) names of the representatives on and (b) terms of reference for the aviation restart and recovery expert group.

The aviation sector is important to the UK economy and the government recognises the challenging times facing the sector?as a result of?COVID-19. The Expert Steering Group (ESG) was set up to bring together all the interested parties from across government and industry to co-produce solutions where possible.

Membership of the ESG compromises of a range of industry experts and relevant Government departments. Working closely with trade bodies such as Airport Operators Association and Airlines UK, DfT agreed the following membership comprising of representatives from across the sector along with relevant Government departments:

Terms of Reference

The initial focus of the group is to act as a representative advisory group on restarting the aviation industry. To this end, the group has worked to produce health guidance for the sector, which was published on 11 June. The group will also identify the key operational requirements for restart, when and how restart will happen, and how to build and maintain consumer confidence.

The second phase of the group’s work will focus on recovery of the aviation sector. This work will include a coherent plan to support the sector’s recovery. Achievement of Government climate change objectives will be a key part of this recovery work. Membership of the ESG will be reviewed to reflect this second phase of work.