House of Commons' transport committee chairman Louise Ellman explains the issues that need to be addressed immediately if the UK economy is to move forward
DESPITE FIVE DECADES of policy papers, inquiries, taskforces and commissions, the problem of runway capacity in south-east England remains unresolved. The Transport Select Committee recently looked into this issue as part of a major inquiry into the UK government’s strategy for aviation. We heard evidence from business groups, local campaigners, environmental groups, airlines, airport operators, air traffic managers and many others. Our report was published in May (click here for more details).
Aviation in the UK continues to grow, with UK airports handling a staggering 221 million passengers in 2012, 1.4 million more than in 2011. The latest passenger forecasts predict that unconstrained demand at UK airports will be 320 million passengers per annum (mppa) by 2030 and 480 mppa by 2050.
Aviation is of huge importance to the economy. The UK aviation sector had a turnover in2011 of around £53 billion, generated around £18 billion of economic output and directly employed over 220,000 workers. Moreover, it has been estimated that the total number of jobs supported (directly and indirectly) by the aviation industry could be as high as 921,000.
Aviation also supports the economy by providing businesses across all sectors with greater connectivity with international markets. As a hub airport, Heathrow plays a unique role in connecting the UK to other parts of the world. For many years Heathrow has operated with two runways at full capacity while other competitor hubs, such as Paris, Frankfurt and Schiphol, have benefited from up to six runways. Alongside this, the growth of large hubs in the Middle East has threatened the UK’s position as an international aviation hub.
We looked closely at the main options to address the critical issue of aviation capacity in the UK. We rejected ideas for a new hub to the east of London, including plans for a new airport in the Thames estuary area, as research we commissioned showed significant public funding would be necessary to make it viable. In addition, Heathrow would have to close, with unacceptable consequences. We also rejected the notion of linking existing airports by high-speed rail to form a split-hub, due to uncompetitive connection times. It would also not be feasible to move flights to other regions or airports with spare capacity – airlines are commercial entities and operate where there is a viable market. Ultimately, we concluded that Heathrow must be allowed to expand. British businesses overwhelmingly favoured this option.
As aviation grows, it is essential that its environmental impacts are properly addressed. Future plans for growth must take account of progress on global initiatives to deal with emissions. Local impacts must also be dealt with.
The government must also take a more active role in promoting airports outside the south-east to enable new routes to develop. A move towards an ‘open skies’ policy might help, and we have asked the Airports Commission to assess the impact of such a policy. We also concluded that regions that are poorly connected should have protected slots at Heathrow so that they can capitalise on the onward connections facilitated by the UK’s hub airport.
The overall level of air passenger duty (APD) has aroused great concern, and we called on the Treasury to conduct a fully costed study of its impact on the UK economy. If a negative impact is proven, APD should be significantly reduced or abolished. In the meantime, we recommended that an APD ‘holiday’ should be introduced for a 12-month trial period. We hope this might encourage new services from airports outside the south east.
It is also vital that the government takes a more strategic approach to improving road and rail access to the UK’s major airports. If Heathrow expands, improved surface access infrastructure will be necessary. Gatwick and Stansted should both be served by a dedicated express rail service. Greater coordination between aviation policy and high-speed rail is required. High-speed rail offers the potential for greater movement of passengers between regions and, therefore, the government must ensure that the High Speed 2 (HS2) rail network serves Heathrow. HS2 might also attract more passengers from the south-east to airports in the Midlands and the north-west.
Our report makes a number of recommendations to the government on its aviation strategy. The issue of hub capacity, in particular, is one that can no longer be avoided. A decision is long overdue.
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Louise Ellman was born in Manchester and has a BA Hons from the University of Hull and an MPhil from the University of York. She worked in further education and at the Open University before her full-time political involvement. Ellman was the leader of Lancashire Council from 1981 to 1997 and has been the Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside since 1997. She has been chairman of the House of Commons’ transport select committee since 2008. The committee has investigated a wide range of transport issues, including motor insurance, high-speed rail, road safety and aviation.