UK trade association ADS Group has warned that aerospace and aviation face a long slow recovery following the announcement that the UK has entered recession for the first time in 11 years.

The Office for National Statistics published its first GDP estimate for Q2 (April to June) 2020, which showed that the UK economy was now in recession following two consecutive quarters of contraction.

A record fall of more than 20 per cent was recorded in Q2, following a 2.2 per cent decline in Q1, which saw the start of a UK lockdown that significantly affected economic activity in the second quarter.

Additional support needed to safeguard industries

ADS Chief Executive Paul Everitt said: “Today’s GDP figures show the scale of the challenge to swiftly achieve a full economic recovery from this unprecedented crisis. While the wider economy has begun the process of recovery, industries including aerospace and aviation will take longer than many other parts of the economy to reach the levels of output seen before the crisis began.

“Additional support will be needed in the months ahead to safeguard our world-leading industrial capabilities and protect high value jobs that are vital to UK prosperity from being lost.”

For further ADS analysis on the GDP data, see http://www.adsgroup.org.uk/blog/uk-enters-recession-q2-2020/