MYSTERY BUYER


HAVE YOUR SAY ON O


NE OF THE PROBLEMS around the Brexit fiasco – and there are plenty to choose from – is that the “debate” has completely overshadowed all other government activity. The media has understand- ably been obsessed with Westminster’s bluster


and backstabbing, paying little heed to the off-camera activities in Whitehall. A case in point is the largely unheralded publication


of a “green paper” consultation document on UK airport expansion beyond south-east England. At 200 pages, it’s not an easy read, and much of it is devoted to the need for air and noise pollution measures, over which travel buyers have little or no control. However, Aviation 2050: The future of UK


THE


aviation is a discussion document. Interested parties, which would surely include travel buyers, managers and their employers, have until 11 April to voice their concerns. Ultimate- ly, we are led to believe, those opinions will inform future government policy. The green paper will be followed by a white paper, which will eventually go before Parliament for ratification. That may not be forthcoming, of course, but while our elected representatives are absorbed with extricating us from the European Union, who knows what might slip through? London’s airports, and


UK AVIATION


Give the government your feedback on its plan for aviation before it slips through under the radar


and Birmingham have become “gateways” in their own right, despite being branded – somewhat patronisingly – “regional” airports.


CONSULTATION PROCESS ENDS ON 11 APRIL. SPEAK UP!


Without wishing to offend, Exeter and Aberdeen, Leeds Bradford and Newcastle are “regional” airports; Manchester and its ilk are not in the same ballpark. Back in 2011, the BBC moved a substantial proportion of its production to Manchester’s Salford Quays, arguing that although 25 per cent of its licence fee income came from the north of England, only eight per cent of its network programmes was made there. One suspects there may have been another motive. Commercial property prices in London are sky high; house prices are equally astronomical, forcing employees to move out to marginally lower-cost commuter towns and foot the bill for ever-increasing rail fares. One accepts that, for the foreseeable future, it will make sense for financial institutions to stay clustered in and around London, but for others – BBC Radio 5 Live and the corpora- tion’s children’s programming, for example, there is no reason to incur the costs involved. There was a time when corporates that needed ready access to international air


connectivity had to be based within striking distance of Heathrow, but that’s no longer true. Of course, if you’re managing frequent trips to China,


specifically Heathrow, have historically been described as “gateways” to the UK but, for all sorts of reasons, that is no longer the case. In recent years, Manchester, Edinburgh, and


to a lesser extent, Glasgow 42 MARCH/APRIL 2019


then Newquay isn’t an option; if Latin America’s emerg- ing markets are your prime area of focus, then Liverpool John Lennon is probably not for you. Aviation 2050 suggests that the government is looking to spread air travel demand away from London, which could be a long-term blessing to many. The consultation process ends on 11 April. Speak up! n Aviation feature, p72-78


Aviation 2050 Te future of UK aviation


A consultation Cm9714


December 2018


buyingbusinesstravel.com


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