Plans for third runway ‘at risk of legal challenge’


Ian Taylor ian.taylor@travelweekly.co.uk


The Transport Select Committee of MPs has warned that ministers risk “a successful legal challenge” to plans for a third Heathrow runway without action “to offset impacts on local communities”.


The MPs backed expanding


Heathrow by building a £14 billion third runway, in a report released last week, but raised a series of concerns and insisted passengers “be protected from cost risks”. Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways parent IAG, welcomed the report saying: “Heathrow’s costs proposal is ex- orbitant. We agree the Department for Transport should look at giving the CAA additional powers to control costs and regulate charges.” He added: “We share the committee’s concerns about the lack of detail on how the new runway will bridge the M25 and


‘The environmental challenges are not issues that can be easily dealt with”


the fact that no costs have been factored in for this.” A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson


said: “Our customers already face the highest airport charges in the world and should not be expected to pay even more.” The committee called for


safeguards on charges as well as on air quality, noise (especially at night), community impacts and compensation, resource and waste management, surface access and regional connectivity. It demanded the government


revise its airports National Policy Statement (NPS), warning: “Without addressing the concerns, there is a risk of successful legal challenge.” Lilian Greenwood MP, who chairs the committe, said: “The


WALSH: ‘The CAA should be given extra powers to control costs’


draft NPS does not guarantee passengers will be protected from the cost risks. The secretary of state must set out how airport charges will be held down.” However, Dale Keller, chief


executive of the Board of Airline Representatives in the UK, noted the findings fell “short of the passenger charges guarantee airlines sought”. Airlines UK chief executive Tim Alderslade said: “The government should bulk up the wholly inad- equate section on cost in the NPS.” Aviation Environment Federation deputy director Cait Hewitt warned: “The environmental challenges are not issues that can be easily dealt with. The plans are wide open to legal challenge.”


British tourism outpaced economy in 2017


UK travel and tourism grew at four times the rate of Britain’s economy in 2017, according to World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) figures released last week. The WTTC’s annual Economic Impact Research,


produced with Oxford Economics, found travel and tourism’s contribution to the UK economy grew by 6.2% to £214 billion compared with 1.5% growth in UK GDP. The findings “emphasise the vital importance of


safeguarding the interests of the sector post-Brexit”, said the WTTC. Gloria Guevara, WTTC president and chief executive,


said: “This success cannot be taken for granted. While the weak pound is improving competitiveness in the


short term and driving arrivals and spending, significant longer-term challenges need to be addressed. Most critical will be ensuring the country has a workforce sufficient in number and skills to support this growth.” She added: “The continued inclusion of the UK in EU


aviation agreements will be vital.” The WTTC suggested: “British holidaymakers are


increasingly opting to stay at home on ‘staycations’, with outbound tourist departures from the UK growing by only 2.5%.” However, the UK’s Office for National Statistics reported a 3% rise in outbound holiday departures from the UK in 2017 over 2016, leading to a record 46.5 million overseas holidays.


29 March 2018 travelweekly.co.uk 63


Global tourism grew by 4.6% in ‘a bumper year’


Travel and tourism accounted for one in five new jobs around the world in 2017 in what was “a bumper year” for the sector, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). The sector grew by 4.6%


– 50% faster than the world economy – and was responsible for seven million new jobs worldwide. Every region saw growth bar the US and Latin America. US tourism grew by half the


worldwide rate at 2.3%, while Latin America saw a decline of 1.4% in travel GDP due to an 18% contraction in Brazil. The sector outperformed the


global economy for a seventh consecutive year, outpacing growth in manufacturing (4.2%), retail and wholesale (3.4%), agriculture, forestry and fisheries (2.6%) and financial services (2.5%). The WTTC reported Europe performed “better than expected” with 4.8% growth, and described Egypt, Tunisia and Turkey as “on track to return to pre-crisis levels as major source markets such as the UK return”. It forecast somewhat slower growth in 2018.


Tourism created 7m new jobs in 2017


ISTOCK


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