“Too Little, Too Late”
As Heidi Alexander, the Government Transport Secretary, announces the development of a second runway at Gatwick, Paul Spencer, Managing Director of the UK’s leading Business Travel Procurement specialists, Focus Travel Partnership, wonders why – despite this welcome news – the Government’s attitude to airport infrastructure and capacity remains stubbornly hesitant.
“An industry worth £20 billion per year and supporting 230,000 jobs shouldn’t have to celebrate the release of an emergency runway at Gatwick as if it was the answer to the much-needed expansion of national capacity. The initiative, whilst welcome, seems like further evidence of a timid approach that governments of all persuasions have adopted since the regional expansion of the ‘80s and ‘90’s”.
Martin Rolfe of NATS (National Air Traffic Services) may have some problems to resolve with system redundancy at Heathrow but he points out that “3 million flights a year are expected in the UK by 2030”. His recommendation that “a dramatic re-imagining of how our airspace is structured and managed is now required” finds much support across the industry.
Paul Spencer of Focus Travel Partnership, with its TMC (Travel Management Company) Partners spending over £1.3bn on business travel each year, agrees. “Our transport policy, particularly post-Brexit, should focus more aggressively on the positive aspects of international air travel -and its impact to trade with the UK and to investment in the UK. Concerns about the environment, sustainability and even noise are being actively addressed by the sector with innovations in aircraft design, fuel and flight planning – and the thousands of British business clients our Partners service are entirely supportive of such considerations.
But with hundreds of years of international trading history, and a connected world that still values face to face interaction with British talent (and that AI won’t replace!) – and for those engineers, project managers, financiers, creatives and the many entrepreneurs that get on a plane at 6 in the morning to strike deals in boardrooms across every continent – Government policy mustn’t hold back from actively promoting airport expansion and development as a source of economic growth. And faster than is currently proposed.”
About Focus Travel Partnership
Focus Travel Partnership is the leading UK business travel consortium for the independent and SME sector and represents 48 TMC Partners with a total turnover of over £1.3 billion. Focus leverages the latest technology platforms and a comprehensive range of services to support its TMC Partners, enabling them to future-proof their businesses. The collective size and buying power of the partnership, along with its long-established industry leading corporate air programme, enables Focus to negotiate the best possible deals with suppliers across all sectors. The continued growth and strength of the partnership through TMC Partner membership, supplier base, and buy-in from all major global airlines, is currently unmatched by any other UK consortium. For more information, please visit https://focustravel.uk/
For further media information please contact: Joanne Emerson / e: JoanneE@Focustravel.uk / t: 0203 978 4942