The government will back airport expansion, including a third runway at Heathrow, so long as developments “meet our carbon targets”.
Transport secretary Louise Haigh assured aviation leaders of her backing yesterday, telling the Airlines 24 conference in London: “I will always support airport expansion, so long as it grows our economy and meets our environmental requirements.”
Haigh noted the government had already given a go-ahead to expansion at London City airport and said: “We’re completely behind aviation expansion so long as it meets our legally binding carbon targets.
“It’s incumbent on airports to decide whether they can expand within those targets. [But] in policy terms, this government is behind airport expansion.”
She told the conference: “Aviation is hugely important to this government. The potential for aviation to grow and contribute to our growth is almost unlimited.”
Haigh announced a new Jet Zero Taskforce, to replace the former Jet Zero Council, would hold its first meeting next week and be “focused on action” rather than a talking shop, with aviation leaders joining her and the secretaries of state from the Department for Business and Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
She suggested “decarbonisation will not mean flying less” and said: “It’s an enormous challenge to the industry, but we don’t want to put a cap on growth.”
Haigh dismissed a suggestion that she and the Department for Transport are primarily focused on the rail network, saying: “We had airspace modernisation and the SAF revenue certainty mechanism in our manifesto and we’re already taking action on both.”
She assured the conference: “The challenge of decarbonising aviation is well understood across Whitehall.”
However, Haigh also described her role as transport secretary as “passenger in chief” and “holding airlines and the CAA to account” and said: “I want the CAA to be much more consumer focused.”
She told aviation leaders: “Britain’s economic growth depends on you. My mission is simply to fix the barriers that hold you back.” But she made clear she would “champion the consumer”.