The travel industry has said 39,000 people have already lost their jobs or been told their job was at risk, as the sector worst affected by the coronavirus crisis called on the government for more financial support to avoid further job losses. The Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) said the job cuts represent about 18% of the UK’s travel industry jobs and warned that thousands more tour operators, travel agents and airline jobs could be lost. The industry trade body said more than 90,000 jobs in travel and related industries had already been affected by the pandemic, and 78% of businesses expected to consider job cuts, although they had not yet discussed redundancies. Abta has written to Rishi Sunak pleading for a package of measures to support the industry while bookings remain sluggish with consumers hesitant about travelling abroad, or afraid of being caught out by frequent changes to the government’s travel advice and quarantine requirements. Even if the industry is offered more government support, only four in 10 travel businesses believe demand will have returned to 2019 levels by 2022. The travel industry body is calling on the government to introduce regionalised quarantine and travel advice to give travellers and businesses more certainty, as has been implemented by Germany. Abta is asking for a wider coronavirus testing regime to allow trade to more international destinations to resume, while mitigating the risk of infection from high-risk countries. It also wants the government to grant an air passenger duty holiday to boost demand for travel, including bookings for holidays in summer 2021. Abta’s member survey showed that 90% of travel businesses have taken advantage of the government’s furlough scheme. Abta wants the government to extend support to businesses that have not seen a significant recovery in revenues, as has been introduced in Australia. Two-thirds (65%) of travel businesses have resumed operations, Abta said, although cruise and school travel operators remain closed. Travel had not restarted as the industry had hoped, because of the government’s “stop start measures”, said Mark Tanzer, Abta’s chief executive. “Sadly businesses continue to be adversely affected and jobs are being lost at an alarming rate,” he said. “Coming towards the end of the traditional period for peak booking, we have hit a critical point as existing government measures to support businesses begin to taper off, the consequence of which, according to this survey of Abta members will be ruinous for more people’s livelihoods.” Abta’s call for more support for the travel sector comes amid a string of closures and redundancies across the industry, from airlines to tour operators, in what would traditionally be peak travel season. STA Travel, a package tour firm which offered holidays to young people and backpackers, became the latest travel firm to cease trading because of the pandemic. The travel company told customers on Friday that it had gone bust, putting about 500 jobs in 50 high street branches at risk. The family owned tour operator Hays Travel announced at the start of August that it was cutting almost 900 jobs, and blamed government-imposed restrictions on travel to Spain. Its owner, John Hays, criticised the government’s introduction of nationwide bans on travel to countries such as Spain where coronavirus cases are rising, which he called a “blunt instrument”. Hays Travel rescued the jobs of 2,500 Thomas Cook employees in 2019 when the tour operator collapsed.