Abta joined airline representatives and the chair of Parliament’s transport select committee to deplore government opposition to airport expansion in the southeast.
Chairman John McEwan said: “Increasing airport capacity is critical.” He described a government ‘scoping document’ on aviation policy published last week as “disappointing”, saying: “An increase in capacity appears out of scope.”
Louise Ellman MP, who chairs the select committee, said: “The government decided no third runway at Heathrow, but there is a dearth of decision making on what else should be done.”
British Airways general manager of political affairs Jim Forster said: “We question how demand will be met. If there was no hub at Heathrow, we would not be able to serve some destinations business travellers need. Eventually, businesses would start to relocate.”
Board of Airline Representatives (BAR UK) chief executive Mike Carrivick warned: “Quite a few airlines can’t get any slots at Heathrow. Within 12 months they will start to look elsewhere.”
Speaking to Travel Weekly at this week’s Hall of Fame event in London IAG chief executive Willie Walsh said he was pleased the debate had moved on to focus on government policy and the future of air travel rather than the impact the sector has today.
Walsh said the UK risked not being directly linked to some of the world’s most important and fastest growing economies and that this would put it at a major disadvantage. He said if a gradual downgrading of the UK’s standing on aviation was government policy it should be honest about this and justify the approach.