- UK Government announces £17m package to protect freight routes between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
- New scheme will support ferry operators on 5 routes between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- UK government continues to work closely with NI Executive and the aviation industry to agree funding to protect air passenger services between NI and GB.
In light of the COVID-19 crisis, the United Kingdom launched a package so as to protect ferry freight routes. Specifically, the region introduced a £17 million scheme which includes services in and out of Cairnryan.
Through the package, UK ensures that critical freight will keep moving into and across the Union, while major ferry routes among Great Britain and Northern Ireland will be further secured.
Steady flow of essentials
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced that further funding, worth tens of millions of pounds, will also be made available to support more routes across the UK, subject to discussions with operators.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said, “Essential supplies are continuing to flow well, but operators are facing challenges as fewer people travelling means less capacity to move goods.”
He added, “Today’s action will help ensure we have the freight capacity we need across the UK. This funding will help ferry operators protect our supply chain and maintain the flow of critical goods across the Irish Sea and throughout the Union.”
UK COVID-19 Emergency Fund
Struggling to maintain freight routes operational, the UK Government’s Department for Transport also noted that thousands of volunteers, vehicles, aircraft and ships from the transport field have been placed on standby in a new “Transport Support Unit” to assist frontline responders during the crisis across the whole of the UK.
Apart from the freight routes package, the London-based charity Seafarers UK decided to create a new “Seafarers UK COVID-19 Emergency Fund” of £2 million in order to support crewmembers during this unprecedented crisis.
Passenger services remain operational
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis, said “This is excellent news for Northern Ireland and the connectivity of the entire United Kingdom.”
“I am pleased that a further support package is also being developed to help ensure crucial air passenger services to and from London, Belfast City Airport and City of Derry Airport are maintained. And we will continue to work closely with the Northern Ireland Executive to help deliver that,” he added.
The Department is in discussions with the relevant airlines, airports and the Northern Ireland Executive to finalise this package guaranteeing lifeline air passenger services remain in operation.
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Source: Gov.UK
