Expansion of Gatwick over rival Heathrow is the favoured option for UK small business leaders, a YouGov poll released today shows.
When given a straight choice between expansion at Gatwick or Heathrow, 42% of small business leaders opted for Gatwick compared to 37% for Heathrow.
Four times as many small business leaders (43%) said that expanding Gatwick would be better than a bigger Heathrow (12%) for creating a balanced UK airport system that would deliver more competition and choice between airports.
Small business leaders also said that expanding Gatwick would be a better choice than expanding Heathrow in terms of the earliest date a new runway could be delivered (26% vs 23%), the speed and ease that a new runway could be built (30% vs 24%), the impact on the local area around the airport (39% vs 25%) and the number of additional planes that would fly over central London (39% vs 24%).
Gatwick’s study shows the importance placed on the cost of travel, with more than half of small business leaders (53%) citing it as the most important consideration when booking a flight, after destination. This jumps to 63% when younger business leaders (25 to 34) were asked.
Separate research from TripAdvisor also shows that between April 2014-15 72% of business travellers surveyed said they had chosen to fly on a low-cost airline.
The Gatwick poll results are published in the week that 65 small British businesses will fly out on the biggest trade mission of its kind to New York from the airport on low fares carrier Norwegian.
Gatwick chief executive Stewart Wingate said: “Small businesses are the backbone of the British economy and they depend on affordable travel to grow their businesses.
“Building a second runway at Gatwick will promote greater competition among airports and airlines, delivering reduced fares, better services and more choice for passengers.
“The US is a major trading partner to the UK so I am very pleased that Gatwick is able to act as the gateway to New York for 65 small businesses looking to develop their networks out there.”