A charter plane of about 180 Romanian fruit pickers is due to land at Stansted tomorrow to fill labour vacancies to keep up with demand amid the coronavirus crisis.

The plane coming from Bucharest to London tomorrow is the first of up to six which will arrive in the coming months so that UK farms stay staffed with labourers.

Country Land & Business Association has warned that current travel restrictions could have a massive impact on farming and leave agricultural companies short-staffed.

A charter plane of about 180 Romanian fruit pickers is due to land at Stansted tomorrow to fill labour vacancies to keep up with demand amid the coronavirus crisis. Stock picture

The plane coming from Bucharest to London tomorrow is the first of up to six which will arrive in the coming months so that UK farms stay staffed with labourers. Stock picture

It is believed that not enough British workers have applied for farming jobs since becoming unemployed during lockdown.

A plummeting demand in flights have seen many airlines, including EasyJet, Ryanair and Wizz, suspend flights between the UK and eastern European countries.

Air Charter Service has confirmed that it has booked the first service to carry easter European workers to the UK, according to The Times.

The workers on the Boeing 737 will be taken by bus to farms across the southeast of the UK and Lincolnshire.

Passengers on board the aircraft will be required to maintain social distancing guidelines and will not be allowed to leave Romania if they display any symptoms of Covid-19.

It comes as the Government's watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, today warned the economy could shrink by more than a third this quarter alone with two million people made jobless if the lockdown continues for two more months.

Shocking analysis from the OBR underlines the trade-offs being made to combat the deadly disease by putting the country into lockdown.

It is believed that not enough British workers have applied for farming jobs since becoming unemployed during lockdown

It warns curbs staying in place for three months will slash GDP by 35 per cent, with unemployment soaring to 10 per cent and the government's deficit hitting £273billion - the highest level since the Second World War.

The watchdog ominously said it was assumed 'for now' there will not be any permanent economic damage, and much of the crash will be unwound as pent-up demand is unleashed when the lockdown finally ends. However, the resulting 13 per cent year-on-year drop will still be worse than anything in the last century.

Responding to the chilling scenario - which emerged as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted the worst global downturn since the Great Depression in 1929 - Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: 'People should know there is hardship ahead.'

A plummeting demand in flights have seen many airlines, including EasyJet, Ryanair and Wizz, suspend flights between the UK and eastern European countries

The apocalyptic figures emerged after Dominic Raab moved to quash the idea of an imminent loosening, with the UK now facing restrictions until at least May 7.

But there is growing alarm about the potential death toll from economic misery, with life expectancy set to take a major hit. Doctors have also warned that suspending all non-urgent NHS operations to focus on coronavirus cases means more cancer and heart disease patients will die.

The Cabinet is divided over whether to push to ease the lockdown soon, with some saying the public is obeying social distancing too well and that people must be urged to keep working where possible.

But concerns have been raised that it is impossible to lift the curbs at the moment anyway because the public is so strongly in favour of them staying in place, and would simply refuse to go back to normal.