Branson sees Brexit Britain in doldrums amid travel chaos

Bloomberg

It’s not easy to wipe the trademark grin off Branson’s face, but one way is to ask the British billionaire about the challenges facing his home country.
Speaking in Texas about Virgin Atlantic Airways’ bid to tap Austin’s tech boom with its first flights to the state, Branson’s ebullience fades when the conversation switches to the economic squeeze and travel chaos in the UK. “I don’t want to get drawn into the British economy and politics or else I’ll end up on Brexit and heaven knows what,” the entrepreneur said in an interview at Austin–Bergstrom International Airport.
Branson, 71, was one of the most prominent business voices of the campaign to keep Britain inside the EU, telling now-Prime Minister Boris Johnson the plan would be a “disaster.” With UK flights in turmoil amid a labor crunch that’s been linked to Brexit, Virgin Group founder says his fears are being borne out.
“I made my thoughts clear on Brexit,” he says. “I don’t change one word. And sadly quite a few of the things that I’ve said in the past may be coming about.”
Wrangling with the EU over the terms of the UK’s departure continues, with the status of Northern Ireland a lingering flash-point. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development forecasts the UK will be the worst-performing economy in the developed world apart from heavily sanctioned Russia in 2023, with zero growth in gross domestic product.
The war in Ukraine has had a knock-on effect on the economy, sending fuel bills to record highs and inflation to a forecast 10%. But Britain is also in the grip of a labor crisis that’s been blamed partly on the loss of EU workers after Brexit, as well as the upheaval of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Airlines and airports have seen a particularly severe crunch, suffering flight cancellations and hours-long delays as they struggle to fill vital roles in security and baggage handling.
Virgin Atlantic has so far avoided the worst of the disruption thanks to a system of rapidly rehiring staff let go during the pandemic, though CEO  Shai Weiss warned that pessimists risk talking down the travel recovery before it’s really begun.
Branson says Virgin Atlantic can ride out any slump, and that a further weakening of sterling could be withstood by the airline thanks to its strong US profile.
Governments must take every action to wean themselves off Russian oil, however difficult that might be, according to Branson.