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Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak – support for members

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27th March 2020

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak – support for members

Dear Members,

As Chairman of The Air Charter Association I wanted to write to you all to let you know what we are doing as an Association during the Covid-19 crisis.

First and foremost, please remember that we are here for all our members to offer any support or advice you need, at any time.

We recently sent out a survey asking for feedback on your biggest and most pressing struggles. The message was very clear that the air charter industry faces an enormous challenge almost immediately, with the main call being for support with finances to bridge the gap. National governments have already released information about grants and loans for small businesses, and financial support for individuals, and we have collated as much industry specific information as we can here.

However, our industry urgently needs information and guidance on how to access these funds and quickly. This remains our top priority at the moment.

We have set up a dedicated Working Group with key Board members who will focus specifically on our work in supporting the membership – and the wider aviation industry – during this crisis.

In addition, The Air Charter Association is joining forces with other trade associations in lobbying Governments to reinforce the vital role that the air charter industry plays, not only in the current crisis but, as a crucial contribution to the global economy, and we are calling for urgent and very basic support to sustain the industry to respond to the inevitable surge in demand when the crisis slows. We are already contacting a number of other trade bodies across the business aviation, commercial aviation and cargo sectors, but we would welcome suggestions for any other organisations you feel we should work with to push for swift action and support.

On a practical level, we are working hard on setting up a Webinar for members to join, where we will have expert speakers giving valuable information and guidance on the urgent HR and financial difficulties businesses are facing. As soon as we have more details about this, we will let you know.

However, this is only the beginning. We are aware that there will be a long road ahead for us all; both in surviving the crisis and with a tough recovery journey ahead, on the other side of it.

Please tell us what we can do for you as your Association, to continually help you as this crisis continues. We will do whatever we can to support each and every one of our members at this incredibly difficult time.

Kind regards
Kevin Ducksbury
Chairman

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