Former transport secretary Lord Patrick McLoughlin has called on the government to scrap Covid-19 tests for unvaccinated travellers and hit out at Heathrow over its 56% hike in landing charges.
Lord McLoughlin also spoke out in favour of airport expansion at the annual dinner of airline association Airlines UK in London, demanding the government “allow new runways where needed”.
But he warned: “Our licence to grow depends on our decarbonisation. We must not think it will automatically come our way.”
Appointed chairman of Airlines UK last July, Lord McLoughlin said: “The past two years have not been easy for the industry. It has been a long road with frustrations along the way.
“UK aviation is in the early stages of recovery with capacity coming back after the removal of most restrictions in January. But the job is not yet done.”
He called for the Passenger Locator Form [PLF] to be scrapped and “the scrapping of testing for those not vaccinated” and urged the government to “protect the competitiveness of the UK’s only hub airport Heathrow.”
McLoughlin argued: “Protect UK consumers by rolling back this 56% increase in charges [by Heathrow]. Unaffordable charges will encourage travellers to travel vie European hubs.”
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) allowed Heathrow to raise its airline charges from £19.36 per passenger to £30.19 from January. The CAA is now deciding on what charges to allow beyond this year up to 2027.
McLoughlin insisted: “Aviation can be a world class strategic asset for the UK. We need all of Whitehall excited about UK aviation development, including the Treasury, allowing new runways where needed.”
But he argued: “Our licence to grow depends on our decarbonisation and our goal of net zero by 2050. The next 12 months will be a key phase for delivery.
“The next decade may account for only 15% of our net emissions reductions, but if we fall short our credibility will be damaged.
“The decarbonisation of aviation is the only way the sector can be given permission to expand.
“We need Sustainable Aviation Fuels [SAFs] as the only possible pathway for long-haul travel, [with] a 10% uptake by 2030 and a dozen SAF plants in the UK by the middle of the next decade. We need the support the government can give.”
Aviation minister Robert Courts promised the government’s aviation strategy would “explore the key issues the industry is going to face over the next 10 years”, insisting: “Our goal is to create a new golden age of aviation.”
He told Airlines UK: “The government remains supportive of airport expansion where it is aligned with new technology.”
Referring to the need to decarbonise the industry, Courts said: “Aviation is not the problem. Emissions are the problem. Together we’re going to solve the problem and create guilt-free travel.”