25 June 2012
Birmingham Airport has today released a report that challenges orthodox opinion about aviation policy in the UK.
The report, authored by Paul Kehoe, Birmingham Airport’s chief executive, says that in order for the whole of Britain to capture the economic benefits of changes in global travel the Government must fully utilise existing airport infrastructure and pursue a balanced aviation strategy.
The report, Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket: a challenge to aviation orthodoxy, argues that:
• Complicated hub-and-spoke demand management policies are failing to adapt to the challenges of aviation in the twenty-first century.
• Britain needs several airports capable of delivering point-to-point connectivity to emerging markets.
• A third runway at Heathrow will only meet 7% of additional passenger capacity needs by 2050; it is not a national aviation strategy.
• The six largest regional airports could add 116 million of passenger capacity to the network by 2050.
Commenting on the report Paul Kehoe, Chief Executive of Birmingham Airport said: “This report is my challenge to policy-makers to think beyond a single hub model that has become rigid aviation orthodoxy, and to consider alternative approaches that can deliver the airport capacity we need, today.
“The alternative approach that I am putting forward is a balanced aviation strategy that makes full use of Britain’s existing airports and that will deliver benefits to the UK more efficiently, more quickly and at a lower cost than any other proposal on the table.
“We have a Government which is set on rebalancing the economy, and we have fantastic airports around the country with the spare capacity to deliver this growth. It is illogical that we are still trying to channel all traffic through the South East, which will only serve to reinforce the imbalance within the economy.
“At Birmingham Airport the number of passengers could double from nine million a year to eighteen million today. We have already started the construction of our runway extension and when completed, in 2014, this number will increase beyond thirty six million. Our runway extension will also allow us to fly to high-value new markets, including Brazil, China and India.
“This report challenges Government to draw a line under old-fashioned industry thinking. It is time to start recognising that there is more than one solution for UK aviation”
As part of the launch of the report, Birmingham Airport has laid out ten ‘tests’ for the Government to meet a balanced UK aviation policy:
1. Does it cater for the short-term, build towards the medium-term and lay the foundations for the UK’s long-term capacity needs?
2. Does it provide airports in the South East with the flexibility to replace low value routes with new, high values services?
3. Does it provide the aviation industry with suitable headroom to ensure the access to the UK is resilient to changes in the weather, accidents and or terrorist activities?
4. Does it ensure that customers are able to fly direct to markets of their choice, from their nearest major airport?
5. Does it provide support for the Government’s wider Growth Agenda by encouraging employment in areas that already suffer from acute economic depression?
6. Does it facilitate economic rebalancing within the UK by supporting the creation of direct connections between the UK’s industrial capacity and customers in emerging markets?
7. Does it allow all parts of the UK to compete for foreign direct investment?
8. Does it provide incentives for airlines to create point-to-point services between UK cities and cities in emerging economies to create new, city pairs?
9. Does it balance the environmental impact of aviation growth for residents across the UK?
10. Does it support the integration of road, rail and air transport networks within the UK?
The report is the latest part of Birmingham Airport’s political campaign that is due to run over the summer, during the Government’s aviation consultation. Earlier in the month, Birmingham Airport released a series of hard-hitting adverts on tubes in London, online and in political magazines.