Insights

Following the publication of our position paper on UK Air Transport Policy, the Air League sent a hard copy directly to the Prime Minister. We subsequently received a response from the Department of Transport who, on behalf on the Prime Minister, addressed our key concerns.  Please click here to view the DfT response.

Members of the Air League, both corporate and individual, have a wealth of expertise and under the auspices of the Air League their views are expressed to government in a clear and reasoned manner. Accordingly, maintaining an open and regular dialogue with the DfT is essential and we are grateful to the department for replying to our letter. However, in this instance, we are not  satisfied with the DfT’s response, nor convinced that all of our points have been addressed. We have therefore penned a reply which articulates our main concerns and counters any misperceptions the government may have. The key points can be found below:-

Mixed Mode Operations at LHR: Contrary to the DfT’s response, mixed mode operations are in operation at Heathrow and our proposal is to seek to increase the six movements an hour already approved to ten movements an hour. We are convinced that the economic benefit of the implementation of this modest proposal to the peripheral regions of the UK would greatly exceed the marginal adverse impact to residents of West London living on the flight path to the already busy runways.

The use of RAF Northolt: The reply from DfT stated: ‘Northolt is of strategic significance to the Ministry of Defence and is expected to remain one of their “core sites” for the foreseeable future, with a significant level of activity in terms of both fixed and rotary wing flying’. Many Council Members of the Air League are former senior members of the RAF with close links to the Ministry of Defence. In light of this, the DfT can be assured that Northolt is very unlikely to remain a core site for the defence of the realm, even for the near future. On a more practical level, when considering airspace, it should be remembered that the use of Northolt would only attract a small number of additional flights; we would be happy to work with NATS to discuss the details but ANY expansion of domestic scheduled flights to the Heathrow area is worth fighting for.

Current UK Aviation Policy: Whilst we welcome the scoping document the department has issued asking for submissions to the many questions contained within it, we must again stress our disappoint and concern that the detailed five-year preparation and studies behind the 2003 White Paper, leading to a cogent, coherent plan for aviation throughout the country should have been jettisoned on the very first day of the new coalition Government. Fundamentally, nothing has changed in terms of the economic imperative to provide additional runway capacity to meet forecast demand since the White Paper was produced.

Click here to view our full response.

At a time when the government desperately needs a clear strategy for UK air transport, the Air League will be maintaining pressure on the government to show its commitment to air transport. It should not be forgotten just how important the contribution air transport makes to the UK economy.

The next step of our campaign is to produce a thorough and considered response to the government’s aviation scoping document.