Asked by: John Grogan (Labour - Keighley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of international flights (a) to and (b) from each UK airport in the event that (i) the north-west runway at Heathrow is built and (ii) if no additional airport capacity is built in the South East of England.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has fully assessed the impact of expansion in the South East on the UK’s connectivity, as set out in Chapter 3 of the Updated Appraisal Report. The Government is clear that a Northwest Runway at Heathrow will help to secure the UK’s status as a global aviation hub, while regional airports will continue to develop their point-to-point networks.
This conclusion is supported by the analysis which shows that passenger numbers and international flights at airports outside of London are expected to increase by 80% and 71% respectively between 2016 and 2050 with a third runway at Heathrow. In addition, passengers from all across the UK are expected to use the connections made available at an expanded Heathrow, with nearly 6 million additional trips from passengers outside of London and the South East being made via the airport in 2040.
Table 1 below shows the forecast number of international passenger Air Transport Movements (ATM) from the Department’s 2017 UK aviation forecasts.[1] The Government recognises that all three schemes for expansion in the South East are projected to result in regional airports experiencing somewhat slower growth in international flights than they might otherwise have seen. However, there is still expected to be strong growth at non-London airports relative to today. Expansion will also improve the UK’s connectivity as a whole with more frequent services to important destinations around the world, providing benefits for passengers and freight-operators across the UK, supporting economic growth.
It is recognised that Table 1 does not reflect this hub benefit nor the considerably greater scope that expansion brings for more domestic flights from regional airports to Heathrow, which would provide passengers from across the country access to a vast network of international destinations. In addition, the modelling does not take account of the future commercial strategies which individual airports could employ to take advantage of the opportunities from both greater connections and growing demand outside London.
Heathrow expansion has been supported by a range of UK airports, including Liverpool John Lennon, Glasgow and Newquay.
Table 1: International passenger Air Transport Movements at modelled UK airports, thousands
International passenger ATMs (000s) | No expansion | LHR NWR | ||||
2030 | 2040 | 2050 | 2030 | 2040 | 2050 | |
Gatwick | 266 | 277 | 280 | 255 | 273 | 279 |
Heathrow | 467 | 473 | 474 | 698 | 719 | 730 |
London City | 69 | 65 | 66 | 39 | 55 | 52 |
Luton | 100 | 95 | 88 | 99 | 97 | 89 |
Stansted | 166 | 182 | 183 | 121 | 163 | 182 |
Birmingham | 115 | 173 | 185 | 97 | 130 | 183 |
Bristol | 56 | 59 | 66 | 49 | 58 | 59 |
East Midlands | 52 | 71 | 90 | 53 | 67 | 84 |
Edinburgh | 52 | 63 | 71 | 51 | 63 | 72 |
Glasgow | 44 | 47 | 55 | 43 | 46 | 53 |
Liverpool | 23 | 25 | 43 | 25 | 27 | 42 |
Manchester | 179 | 214 | 272 | 159 | 207 | 245 |
Newcastle | 26 | 29 | 35 | 22 | 28 | 34 |
Other small UK airports | 140 | 217 | 351 | 113 | 137 | 232 |
Total | 1755 | 1990 | 2258 | 1825 | 2069 | 2338 |
[1] An ATM represents a single use of a runway – either a landing or a take-off – so the numbers of take-offs and landings are each half of the total displayed.
Asked by: John Grogan (Labour - Keighley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will place in the Library a copy of the legal advice provided to his Department on the provision of subsidies for regional air connections from UK airports to Heathrow airport.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The current regulation is clear that subsidies can be provided under Public Service Obligations (PSOs). The Government already subsidises three PSO routes to London airports (Newquay to Gatwick; Dundee to Stansted; and Londonderry to Stansted).
The Department has taken further legal advice on the Government’s interpretation of existing PSO regulations as part of the development of policy to improve connections between Heathrow and the regions and nations of the UK should expansion go ahead. This will be central to achieving the Secretary of State’s ambition for up to 15% of slots from a new runway being used for domestic routes.
The Government’s position on domestic connectivity will be set out in a Green Paper on the Aviation Strategy this autumn and while Government does not publish legal advice, other relevant documents will be published alongside this consultation as appropriate.
Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the effect of the expansion at Heathrow Airport on the (a) sustainability and (b) capacity of regional airports.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The revised draft Airports National Policy Statement on new runway capacity and infrastructure at airports in the South-East of England considers impacts of Heathrow expansion on airports across the UK. It finds that a North-West runway at Heathrow delivers the best connectivity for the UK as a whole, with regional airports expected to continue displaying strong passenger growth by 2050.
The UK is one of the best connected countries in the world by air, with six airports handling more than five million passengers per annum, offering an intensive short-haul network and an increasing number of long-haul destinations. In addition almost 30 regional airports offer important direct connectivity to key business and leisure destinations.
The Government is developing a new, long-term Aviation Strategy to 2050 and beyond which aims to achieve a safe, secure and sustainable aviation sector that meets the needs of consumers and of a global, outward-looking Britain. A ‘Next Steps’ document published in April, stated that the Government will consider whether our nations and regions are suitably connected by either air or surface access transport to the rest of the UK and to key overseas markets.
Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the costs and benefits to (a) the public purse and (b) passengers of the expansion of regional airports.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The revised draft Airports National Policy Statement on new runway capacity and infrastructure at airports in the South-East of England considers impacts of Heathrow expansion on airports across the UK. It finds that a North-West runway at Heathrow delivers the best connectivity for the UK as a whole, with regional airports expected to continue displaying strong passenger growth by 2050.
The UK is one of the best connected countries in the world by air, with six airports handling more than five million passengers per annum, offering an intensive short-haul network and an increasing number of long-haul destinations. In addition almost 30 regional airports offer important direct connectivity to key business and leisure destinations.
The Government is developing a new, long-term Aviation Strategy to 2050 and beyond which aims to achieve a safe, secure and sustainable aviation sector that meets the needs of consumers and of a global, outward-looking Britain. A ‘Next Steps’ document published in April, stated that the Government will consider whether our nations and regions are suitably connected by either air or surface access transport to the rest of the UK and to key overseas markets.
Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the financial benefit to the public purse of an increase in long-haul aviation traffic from regional airports.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The revised draft Airports National Policy Statement on new runway capacity and infrastructure at airports in the South-East of England considers impacts of Heathrow expansion on airports across the UK. It finds that a North-West runway at Heathrow delivers the best connectivity for the UK as a whole, with regional airports expected to continue displaying strong passenger growth by 2050.
The UK is one of the best connected countries in the world by air, with six airports handling more than five million passengers per annum, offering an intensive short-haul network and an increasing number of long-haul destinations. In addition almost 30 regional airports offer important direct connectivity to key business and leisure destinations.
The Government is developing a new, long-term Aviation Strategy to 2050 and beyond which aims to achieve a safe, secure and sustainable aviation sector that meets the needs of consumers and of a global, outward-looking Britain. A ‘Next Steps’ document published in April, stated that the Government will consider whether our nations and regions are suitably connected by either air or surface access transport to the rest of the UK and to key overseas markets.
Asked by: Grant Shapps (Conservative - Welwyn Hatfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will actively promote the use of RAF Northolt to facilitate UK regional air links to Heathrow Airport; and whether he has made an assessment of the effect on connectivity of using RAF Northolt to facilitate regional air links.
Answered by John Hayes
I refer the Right Honourable Gentleman to the Airports Commission’s interim report of December 2013 conclusions on RAF Northolt.
In addition, RAF Northolt is owned and operated by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and is primarily a military resource. Any policy decisions on expansion of civil aviation operations at the airfield are the responsibility of the RAF and the MOD.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the economic benefits to regions outside of London and the south east of England of an expansion of Heathrow airport over the next three decades.
Answered by John Hayes
The Department has undertaken an economic assessment of the impact of a new runway at Heathrow at a national level, taking account of all areas of the UK.
Regions across the country should benefit from new destinations, extra seats and increased frequency of service created by increased capacity at Heathrow. Enhanced access to international connectivity will be important in supporting regional economic growth. In addition, for regions where domestic air connections to London remain crucial, such as Scotland, expansion will create space for increased frequencies and new links.
Asked by: Tom Elliott (Ulster Unionist Party - Fermanagh and South Tyrone)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to bring forward legislative proposals to give the Government power to ring-fence landing slots at Heathrow Airport to protect connections to regional airports as was proposed in the Airports (Amendment) Bill [HL] 2010-12.
Answered by John Hayes
Under European Union regulations airport slot allocation in the UK is managed by a designated co-ordinator which is independent of the Government, the Civil Aviation Authority and other interested parties.
The Government will consider how all UK airports, including those in the South East, can best utilise their existing runways to allow the growth of both domestic and international connectivity as part of the new Aviation Strategy. This will be an ambitious programme of work, and we will be consulting widely throughout 2017, leading to publication of an Aviation Strategy White Paper at the end of 2018.
The draft Airports National Policy Statement, currently out for consultation, sets out that expansion at Heathrow would be an opportunity to not only strengthen the frequency of existing domestic routes, but also to develop new domestic connections, including to regions currently unserved. Government would expect Heathrow to add at least six more domestic routes by 2030 bringing the total to 14.
Asked by: Tania Mathias (Conservative - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2016 to Question 50200, on Heathrow Airport: air routes, what legal mechanisms the Government plans to use to protect existing domestic routes and provide additional connectivity across the UK with new routes from Scotland, Northern Ireland and the South West and North East of England.
Answered by John Hayes
The Government is committed to ensuring that expansion at Heathrow benefits the whole of the UK and strengthens regional connectivity. The Government will set out mechanisms to protect and strengthen domestic services when it publishes a draft National Policy Statement in the New Year.
Asked by: Danny Kinahan (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of expanding Heathrow Airport on Belfast International's ability to establish its own direct international connections.
Answered by John Hayes
The Government values the vital contribution airports right across the UK make to the growth of regional and local economies, and recognises that air connectivity between areas of the UK and beyond is very important.
The Airports Commission shortlisted three airport expansion schemes, two at Heathrow and one at Gatwick. The Government accepted the Commission’s shortlist in December 2015 and is considering all of the evidence very carefully before reaching a view on its preferred scheme. The Government is not providing a running commentary on this work before an announcement on its preference.