North of Scotland business leaders have called on government to stop the “haemorrhaging” of flight connections to London after a new report published yesterday set out options for UK airports expansion.
The Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI) has warned that the UK Government’s “indecision and inaction” on airport capacity over the years has left UK airports “creaking at the seams” and forced airlines to substitute commercially-viable regional routes for more lucrative services.
Fraser Grieve, director of the SCDI Highlands & Islands, warned that failure to meet the needs of exporters in the North of Scotland would hit tax revenues for the UK.
He said: “Air access to and through London from the north of Scotland continues to erode and it is vital that action is taken to stem the haemorrhaging of our connections.
“Oil and gas services and food and drink in the North are two of the UK’s leading exports, and it is imperative that they can access the international marketplace in order for them to continue to compete and thrive.
“Unless action is taken to increase airport capacity, and protect slots for regional connections, areas of the UK without competitive transport alternatives will be unable to continue to make the valuable economic contribution they have been.”
Politicians are likely to have to decide between a new runway at either Heathrow or Gatwick following an interim report yesterday by the Whitehall-commissioned Airports Commission.
Expansion at Stansted airport in Essex has been ruled out until after 2030 by the commission, which is headed by former Financial Services Authority chief Sir Howard Davies.
Sir Howard’s team have not closed the door on a Thames Estuary scheme, dubbed “Boris Island” because this plan is favoured by London mayor Boris Johnson.
But although the commission will study estuary schemes further, Sir Howard described it as “imaginative”, adding that it could cost as much as £112billion, would need much more public money than the other options and the construction challenge would be “massive”.
The commission concluded that there was “a need for one net additional runway to be in operation in the south-east by 2030 and there was “likely to be a demand case for a second additional runway to be operational by 2050”.
The commission, which was founded last year, is due to make its final report in the summer of 2015 – after the next general election.
SCDI Chief Executive Ross Martin called on all political parties to “put aside their narrow self-interest” to support the commission’s work.
He said: “While the sensitivities around airport expansion are understood, it is incumbent on Government and Parliament to prioritise the national economic interest, including all parts of the UK, and reach decisions which deliver the necessary infrastructure.”