Heathrow Retail Director Fraser Brown has shared further information on the phased reopening of the UK hub’s shops and restaurants, which has scaled up in recent weeks.

WHSmith and Boots are among those to have continued trading at the airport during the crisis, but more have followed suit after the government gave the green light for non-essential shops to reopen last month.

More than 50 retail and F&B outlets are now open at Heathrow Terminal’s 2 and 5, with World Duty Free’s outlets at both terminals recommencing shop sales last month.

“It will be a gradual reopening, with each retailer and business partner working with us to make sure their front-of-house is safe for colleagues and passengers travelling,” said Brown during a *conversation for TRBusiness’ Adapt & Survive video series.

Since April, the airport accustomed to serving 80 million-plus passengers per annum has shifted from operating two runways to one and consolidated operations into Terminal’s 2 and 5.

COMMON TESTING STANDARDS

A large number of airlines have switches services from Terminal’s 3 and 4, with American Airlines moving from Terminal 2 to Terminal 5. 

This week, Heathrow called on the government to act more quickly to protect jobs and unlock growth, with travel demand still badly affected by the coronavirus crisis. In May, traffic plunged by 97%.

CEO John Holland-Kaye said the UK’s travel corridors were ‘a great first step’, but has called on government to allow healthy passengers to travel freely between the UK and ROW.

“We’re ready to pilot a testing system on arrival for passengers from ‘red’ countries as an alternative to quarantine, but even better would be to test passengers before they get on a plane,” Holland-Kaye said on Monday 13 July. “This requires a common international standard for testing, which the UK government could take a global lead in setting up.”

*Interview conducted on 9 July on the eve of the government’s quarantine exemptions that came into force on 10 July.

The TRBusiness ‘Adapt and Survive’ Skype video interview series is a direct response to the industry’s critical need for direct, factual and analytical commentary and – in typical TRBusiness fashion – interprets clearly and concisely the challenges faced by travel retail during Covid-19.

Adapt & Survive asks members of the travel retail industry community, often working from home, for their candid commentary on the constantly evolving Covid-19 pandemic.

To register your interest in the Adapt and Survive series, please contact one of the editorial team at the following addresses: charl[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected].