The Board of Airline Representatives in the UK (BAR UK) has slammed the election manifestos of all three main political parties for "failing to meet the country's aviation needs".
Mike Carrivick, BAR's CEO, said the airline industry has been "let down" by the manifestos of the Conservative Party, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats for their "lack of vision and commitment in addressing the air travel needs of the UK public, industry and the economy".
The UK's global competitiveness is at stake, he said, through "isolated policies attempting to tax or restrict what is a global industry".
Speaking on behalf of BAR UK's 90 airlines, Carrivick said: "Taxation alone can never deliver the benefits that the UK public and industry are demanding."
The comment come in response to the manifestos released by the Conservatives and Lib Dems, which both pledge to scrap the third runway at Heathrow.
"Such policies are no remedy to aircraft stacking over the Home Counties, are highly detrimental to the industry's efforts to reduce emissions and deny access to global markets for those elsewhere in the UK," said Carrivick.
Both parties have also pledged to reform APD, but, said Carrivick, "significantly, have not stated how this will be structured".
"The Labour Government had previously failed when they planned the same thing. Either way, all three main Parties discriminate against flying rather than planning long term solutions for a vital industry," he added.
BAR UK outlined its five key requirements from the next government for the aviation industry:
- To recognise that a third runway at Heathrow is a priority for the UK economy and that this expansion is not funded by the Government. It is required to resist the increasing threat to jobs and the economy from competing hub airports in other countries.
- To embrace the White Paper and the Civil Aviation Bill ‘The Future of Air Transport', that was published in 2003 at immense cost, as the template for the industry for the next 30 years and to refrain from piecemeal tampering and short term measures.
- To reduce Air Passenger Duty (APD) with immediate effect and to completely abolish APD once the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) commences in 2012.
- To acknowledge that aviation is a relatively low emitter, contributing just 2.5% of global carbon emissions, and assist an already proactive industry with research and technology incentives to reward further efficiency gains.
- To proactively seek to bring forward planned improvements in European airspace management which is where the quickest and most significant reductions in carbon emissions can be achieved. BAR UK continues to lobby the political parties upon the importance of effective, integrated and fair transportation policies.
www.bar-uk.org