With Britain becoming an increasingly attractive destination for multinational businesses, the issue of the country’s airport capacity has been pushed into prominence.
While plans for a Heathrow expansion, additional runways at Gatwick and Stansted and even a brand new hub airport in the London vicinity have all been submitted for consideration, many British firms believe that the Government is moving too slowly to truly help them take advantage of the opportunities a growing economy has afforded them.
As a result, a diverse group of more than 100 British companies including John Lewis, Lloyds and Dixons have joined forces to create the “Let Britain Fly” consortium, the aim of which is to press the government into making a decision based on Sir Howard Davies’ recent report into airport capacity. They fear that, should the issue be left to stagnate much longer, Britain could become a second-tier global economy thanks to a decrease in international business interest.
Although the findings of Sir Howard’s review will not be made public until after the next election, the consortium wishes to impress upon the three main parties the importance of tackling this issue head on. As a result, they would like to see a commitment in their 2015 manifestos to be “guided by” the recommendations contained in the report.
Sir Martin Sorrell of WPP has thrown his support firmly behind the campaign, claiming that the lack of action seen thus far could “hamper the UK’s success as a global business centre and at the same time the ability to forge a lasting economic recovery.”
He continues; “We live in a world where connectivity is key – not only in digital but also in physical terms.
“This means we urgently need MPs to put our long term national interests ahead of short term politics.”
The Let Britain Fly consortium will not attempt to sway politicians by backing a single recommendation, such as an expansion at Heathrow, but instead will aim to force all parties to agree in principle that airport capacity in the South East must be increased in order to allow Britain to achieve its full business potential. It claims that over 50 years of inactivity is “costing our economy billions in trade and investment”, and points out that the last time Britain opened a new full-length runway was during the Second World War.
Conservative MP Graham Brady has also lent his support to the campaign, stating that political parties must put their differences aside in order to find a solution to the problem.
He says; “The Airports Commission must mark the end of 50 years of indecision.
“For Britain’s sake we need to get on with the job of building the airport capacity that is so badly overdue.”
In the consortium’s mission statement, Let Britain Fly claims that Heathrow airport has been “full for over a decade, whilst all of the capital’s airports, including Gatwick and Stansted are forecast to be full by the mid-2020s.” With this in mind, it seems that the government must make a decision soon or risk destabilising the fragile steps towards recovery that the economy has taken so far.
