Having hosted the Airport Commission’s Sir Howard Davies at Abta’s office last week, association chief executive Mark Tanzer says both sectors are seeking definitive action
Last week Abta had the pleasure of welcoming Sir Howard Davies, chairman of the Airports Commission, to our offices.
This was an important opportunity for Sir Howard to set out the priorities of the Commission and the options that are being reviewed, and for Abta to put the industry’s case, on behalf of our members, for increasing airport capacity in the UK.
The arguments for increased capacity may seem familiar – and like many colleagues within business and leisure travel, Abta is arguing for growth.
As an industry we want the Commission to recommend a sustainable solution to current and projected demand, and we want certainty that any future government will act to increase capacity and maintain the UK’s competitive advantage.
The circa £36 billion leisure aviation sector is a vital component of our economic competitiveness, and delivering not only capacity but also improved access and surface connectivity for our customers must therefore be a strategic priority for the Commission.
I am pleased to say Sir Howard was keen to hear our views and recognises the important contribution our sector makes to this debate.
Leisure aviation is a wealth and a job creator without which many air routes essential to business would simply not exist.
It is a fact that strong demand from leisure passengers has maintained the viability of routes to emerging and high growth economies such as Brazil, India and the UAE, which are critical to UK plc.
Business and leisure travel are inextricably linked; developing a single plan that delivers for both sectors is the best way to ensure maximum economic benefit.
We know that passengers value hugely the ability to connect quickly to regional airports, which is why we also strongly advocate improvements to public transport access, especially ensuring the speed of journeys into central London and excellent connectivity to other parts of the UK.
Passengers also deserve a high quality experience once in the airport – airports must set out how they plan to continually improve their facilities as part of their bids to win approval.
As the Davies Commission continues to review detailed plans around the shortlisted options, it is vital that we maintain momentum for action among all major political parties up to and beyond the General Election in 2015.
Abta’s own research shows that 70% of MPs agree that the UK will be at an economic disadvantage if progress is stalled.
Abta will be pushing for a clear commitment from the decision makers once Sir Howard’s recommendations have been delivered to the resident of Number 10 following the General Election in 2015.