Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to support airports with annual business rates higher than £8 million.

The Airport and Ground Operations Scheme provides eligible commercial airports and ground operators support towards permitted fixed costs subject to certain conditions. These eligible businesses can claim based on the equivalent of their business rates liabilities, or COVID losses, whichever is lower, up to the scheme cap.

The cap strikes an appropriate balance between supporting airports in financial distress while protecting the interests of the taxpayer.

In total, we estimate that by the end of September 2021 the air transport sector (airlines, airports and related services) will have benefited from around £7bn of Government support since the start of the pandemic. This includes support through loan guarantees, support for exporters, the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.