Recovery of business travel in the UK could quite easily have been scuppered entirely by ¡®Lockdown 2¡¯ had it not been for the largely unheralded detail that allows travel for ¡®work purposes¡¯.

The vague wording, delivered almost as a minor footnote of the new rules that come into effect in England today, were treated with suspicion by some while clarification was sought as to their precise meaning and if there were any restrictions attached.

With no further details forthcoming since last Saturday¡¯s announcement of the new month-long lockdown, the business travel community ¨C corporates and TMCs ¨C is not exactly breathing a collective sigh of relief, but is at least grateful not to be sent ¡°back to square one¡± as the unfortunate leisure travel industry has been with a ban on all such travel that will hit beleaguered tour operators and airlines.

While domestic business travel will likely continue throughout Lockdown 2, albeit with dampened demand, ongoing quarantine restrictions mean international travel will remain largely stifled.

The Advantage Travel Partnership¡¯s chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said says business travel¡¯s exemption from an otherwise blanket ban on travel is ¡°positive¡± but the second lockdown is nevertheless ¡°a further massive blow to the business travel community and the economy, and delays any sign of recovery for the sector¡±.

She says some hotel partners are closing or part closing while others are remaining open for key workers and business travellers, ¡°but again we expect demand to be low¡±. But with leisure stays banned in England, it is likely that many hotels will be unable to afford to remain open.??

Chris Galanty, global CEO of Flight Centre's business travel divisions, was also heartened by the consideration of business travel but says ¡°realistically this applies primarily to domestic business travel. International business travel will still be severely impacted¡±.?

Meanwhile, Bex Deadman, managing director at Blue Cube Travel, says her TMC was ¡°just beginning to see a pick-up and inevitably has now seen some cancellations.¡±

The Business Travel Association also bemoaned the implementation of Lockdown 2 calling it a ¡°huge blow¡± but conceded that ¡°public health is of fundamental importance¡±.

And Martin Ferguson, American Express Global Business Travel's vice president of public affairs, says the exemption of business travel from the new ban is ¡°pointless while there is still a senseless quarantine in place¡±.

Several travel managers BTN Europe contacted were more positive.?

One said they were pleased with the exemption as they have some domestic business travel activity which can continue during the new lockdown period. A second travel manager, whose line of business means their travellers are exempt from quarantine restrictions, was also pleased as they currently have ¡°quite a bit¡± of both domestic and international travel activity.

A third travel manager said that while the continuation of business travel was positive, it made little difference to their organisation as they ¡°have hardly any travel at the moment¡±.

Not surprisingly, many commentators also addressed the intrinsically related subjects of redundancies and quarantine, with Lockdown 2 also seeing the extension of the UK¡¯s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and postponement of its replacement Job Support Scheme.

BTA chief executive Clive Wratten said the extension is welcome but is ¡°too little too late for many business travel firms, where redundancies are now running at up to 60%¡±.

Blue Cube¡¯s Deadman, concurs, adding that, like many companies, ¡°many of our staff had already opted for redundancy.¡±

What all parties agree on is the urgent need for airport testing regimes that can eliminate quarantine restrictions and unlock what is believed to be pent-up demand for business travel.

¡°We urge the government to speed up plans for introducing Covid-19 testing at airports,¡± says Flight Centre¡¯s Galanty. ¡°We need to see greater government support to get the sector moving,?especially as we are about to officially leave the EU.¡±

He continues: ¡°Other countries like Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands are way ahead of the UK in airport testing protocols and [are] allowing business travel to resume."?

As Wratten says: ¡°Ultimately, airport testing is the only way to get British business travelling again, and that is vital for UK plc.¡±