UK aerospace is 'special case' for funds, says ADS

摘要

The UK's aerospace sector must be treated as a special case for further government funding because of its critical role in research and development and providing high-value employment, according to Meggitt chief executive Tony Wood, who is also president of industry body ADS. Wood says aerospace in the UK is entering a "critical period", with many government support schemes introduced at the start of the coronavirus crisis, such as emergency business loans and payment of wages for furloughed staff, being wound down at a time when the medium-term outlook for commercial aviation in particular remains grim. Acknowledging that the government is "pretty stretched" and reluctant to commit to "sector-specific support", he says aerospace is one of the few industries that "proves that investing in R&D creates long-term jobs". He describes the pandemic as "a crisis like no other" and predicts that it could take three years for commercial aviation traffic to return to 2019 levels, and five before OEM production rates regain lost ground. "And that's not the worst case scenario," he says.