UK airlines response to Independent report into August 2023 NATS IT failure

Commenting on the publication of the Final Independent Report into the August 2023 NATS IT failure, Tim Alderslade, CEO of Airlines UK, the industry body representing UK-registered carriers, said:  

“This was a catastrophic failure of critical national infrastructure – impacting almost a million airline customers on one of the busiest weekends of the year – and today’s report contains clear evidence that NATS’ basic resilience planning and procedures were not adequate to deal with such an incident.

“We welcome the CAA’s commitment to hold NATS to account for the actions they have promised to avoid a repeat occurrence, including improvements to their governance and communications with industry. This incident cost airlines tens of millions of pounds and carriers cannot continue to act as the insurer of last resort when events like this happen, through no fault of their own. Government must consider all necessary legislative changes to enhance risk-sharing and ensure service providers – not passengers – bear the costs of their own failures in future.”

UK airlines react to 2024 Budget

Commenting on the Budget statement delivered today by the Chancellor, Tim Alderslade, CEO of Airlines UK, the industry body representing UK-registered carriers, said:

 

“We welcome the announcement of a further 12 months of funding for the Advanced Fuels Fund, which will support UK sustainable aviation fuel production, a key airline priority with the SAF mandate due to commence in January. 

 

“Air Passenger Duty, however, already makes the UK less competitive and further increases in addition to rises in other business levies will impact growth, directly hitting the pockets of ordinary travellers and making it harder for UK airlines to put on new routes. We need a revised and joined-up approach to the UK’s strategically vital aviation sector.”

Airlines UK’s reaction to the King’s Speech

Commenting on the Government commitment announced in the King’s Speech to introduce a Sustainable Aviation Fuels (Revenue Certainty Mechanism) Bill in the next session of Parliament, Tim Alderslade, CEO of Airlines UK, the industry body representing UK-registered carriers, said:

“The commitment in the King’s Speech to introduce a revenue support mechanism to incentivise UK sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production is a positive step forwards. Airlines are clear that a Guaranteed Strike Price mechanism – backed and funded by Government and consistent with its approach to industrial strategy – would represent exactly the kind of strategic partnership with business that will unlock billions of pounds of private sector investment in a brand new UK SAF industry. Domestic production of SAF will make it easier for industry to meet the UK’s ambitious SAF mandate, whilst creating tens of thousands of new jobs across the UK’s industrial base and strengthening our energy security. 

“We look forward to working with Government on the scheme design so that the mechanism, whilst offering protections to both investors and consumers, can be introduced as quickly as possible with plants under construction by the end of next year.”

UK airlines respond to SAF mandate publication

Commenting on the details of the UK SAF mandate published today by Government, Tim Alderslade, CEO of Airlines UK, the industry body representing UK-registered carriers, said:

“UK airlines support a SAF mandate as a vital step towards the net-zero transition as SAF will be one of the important technologies to achieve aviation’s net zero commitments. However, it is vital that Government now puts the right measures in place to incentivise production and reduce the cost of SAF as seen in the EU and US, as quickly as possible. Without these, the UK will be at a competitive disadvantage with consumers at risk of higher fares. 

 “We welcome the delay to and subsequent increase in the cap on HEFA-based SAF to allow producers time to scale-up more advanced fuels, but the Government must keep the buy-out price under regular review to avoid disproportionate price increases for consumers.

 “Ministers must also introduce legislation for a revenue certainty mechanism in the next Kings Speech to drive investment in UK SAF production and increase supply. Only then can we keep UK aviation competitive as we decarbonise.”

Airlines UK response to the independent Interim Report into the August 2023 NATS IT failure

Commenting on the publication of the independent Interim Report into the August 2023 NATS IT failure, Tim Alderslade, CEO of Airlines UK, the industry body representing UK-registered carriers, said:

“This report contains damning evidence that NATS’ basic resilience planning and procedures were wholly inadequate and fell well below the standard that should be expected for national infrastructure of this importance.  

“We welcome the Committee’s plans for further investigation to provide recommendations so that this kind of catastrophic failure is not allowed to happen again.” 

UK airlines respond to standard rate Air Passenger Duty increase

Commenting on the announcement from the Chancellor that standard rate Air Passenger Duty will increase from April 2025, Tim Alderslade, CEO of Airlines UK, the industry body representing UK-registered carriers, said:

“The decision to increase APD goes against the Prime Minister’s commitment not to discourage flying through taxation and hitting passengers – including families and those travelling for leisure – with stealthy tax rises will only make the UK even less competitive on the global stage, with aviation taxes and airport charges already amongst the highest in the world. The Government should instead focus on supporting the industry’s transition to net zero which the US and EU has made billions of pounds of support available for, unlike here in Britain.”

Airlines UK 2024 Manifesto

Airlines UK have today published our 2024 manifesto. The second half of this decade is set to be a transformational one for UK airlines. The pandemic hit global aviation hard and it is testament to the resilience of our industry that today UK airlines look ahead with renewed confidence, whilst continuing to make a major positive difference in the lives of the UK travelling public and for our globally connected economy, linking the UK to hundreds of destinations, and bringing together our home nations and regions.

Download the manifesto here.

We are though, at a crossroads. Whilst demand for aviation grows across society – to meet friends and family across the UK and overseas, for leisure, and from business travellers and British exporters, we know that aviation can only grow to meet this demand if we stay competitive as a global hub in the face of growing international competition, whilst cutting our carbon emissions to net zero at the same time.

This is a huge challenge, but a bigger opportunity. The next parliament can put UK aviation on an irreversible path to net zero, creating new jobs in green industries whilst enabling UK airlines to continue to act as a growth engine for the wider UK economy. The prize is significant – not only the
400 local jobs supported by each and every aircraft based here in the UK, and the over one million jobs that rely on UK aviation, but also the thousands of new, high-skilled jobs up for grabs in those industries that will power our net zero transition, from sustainable fuel production across the country to those involved in making zero-emission commercial aviation a reality from the end of this decade.

Realising this potential for our country requires political ambition and clear-sighted policies which recognise that in today’s highly competitive global economy, we cannot take the UK’s position as a world-leader in aviation for granted. We should, however, take confidence from our history as a pioneering aviation nation and the strength of our airline community. This manifesto sets out how Government, working together with industry, can deliver connectivity, growth and net zero, driving down our environmental impact whilst grasping the new economic and social opportunities there for the taking.

Download the Airlines UK 2024 Summary here.

Airlines UK comment on Virgin Atlantic 100% SAF transatlantic flight

Commenting on the operation by Virgin Atlantic of the world’s first commercial Transatlantic flight using 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel, Tim Alderslade, CEO of Airlines UK, the industry body representing UK-registered carriers, said:

“This is a hugely important milestone in the race to net zero for UK aviation and our congratulations go to the Virgin Atlantic team and their partners, together with the UK Government, for making it happen.

 

“We now need to make occasions like this the new normal, ensuring UK airlines are able to access enough affordable SAF this decade in order to meet the mandate, with as much of it as possible produced here in the UK. The last thing we want is higher fuel costs for UK passengers compared to the rest of Europe and the US, with worse sustainability outcomes and thousands of new jobs lost overseas. 

 

“That’s why we need support for the transition to SAF, including bringing the cost further into line with jet fuel, and a revenue certainty mechanism – underwritten by Government – forming part of the next Budget, with a commitment to legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows.”

Response to Government support for a UK SAF revenue certainty mechanism

Commenting on the announcement today by Government that it will introduce a revenue certainty scheme to support UK SAF production, Tim Alderslade, CEO of Airlines UK, the industry body representing UK-registered carriers, said:

 

“Aviation connectivity is critical to the success of the UK and SAF is an important technology in our net zero arsenal. It is a proven way of driving aviation emissions down – particularly for long-haul – and will make the biggest contribution to aviation decarbonisation to 2050. Industry has long been calling for a policy that directly incentivises investment in the initial UK SAF plants.

 

 “We need the right mechanism though – with Government acting as the underwriter – and UK airlines look forward to engaging in the consultation and agreeing the details of a scheme as quickly as possible, to ensure we meet the Government commitment of having 5 plants under construction by 2025. 

 

“Ultimately, the end goal must be more and cheaper SAF, to avoid spiralling price increases for passengers and to ensure we meet the SAF mandate, without relying wholly on imports or suppliers simply buying out of their obligations. This means Government also introducing incentives to close the price gap between SAF and fossil jet fuel – as they have done in the US and EU – and ensuring airlines have access to enough HEFA-based SAF – the only commercially available SAF today – until enough second generation fuel can be produced by domestic plants here in the UK.”

New report reveals £24bn contribution of UK based airlines to the UK economy including over 1 million jobs and vital connectivity

  • New report has revealed that each UK-based aircraft directly supports 400 jobs and £27m UK Gross Added Value (GVA) – compared to 100 jobs and £7m GVA where overseas airlines operate UK routes
  • Every two additional departing flights added by a based aircraft creates another job in the wider UK economy
  • UK airlines transport around 20 million overseas visitors per year to the UK who spend £14 billion – taking total UK jobs supported by UK airlines to over 1 million
  • Benefit is expected to grow by generating £111 billion for the UK economy and £41 billion in GVA by 2050

As the UK enjoys its busiest summer travel period since the pandemic, a new report has revealed the vital importance of UK-based airlines to UK jobs and growth. The new report by Steer, commissioned by Airlines UK, examining the strategic and economic contribution of UK-based airlines to the UK economy, has shown that having airlines basing themselves in the UK matters significantly for job creation, UK connectivity and future economic growth potential.

 

Read the full report here.

 

The start of the UK school holidays saw the busiest travel weekend since before the pandemic with over 2 million Brits heading overseas, while UK Border Force expects over 34 million air arrivals coming through the UK over the coming months. Most of these travellers are carried onboard airlines with bases at UK airports. This new research has shown that UK-based aircraft generate four times the jobs and economic value for the UK, compared to an aircraft serving the UK based at an airport overseas.

Moreover, as UK-based aircraft predominantly serve the routes from the UK’s regions and cities outside the South-East – where an overseas carrier is unlikely to step in – UK-based airlines provide UK travellers, businesses and exporters with essential connectivity and choice helping keep costs for consumers and businesses lower.

Key findings from the report also show:

  • UK airlines who are members of Airlines UK have over 900 UK-based aircraft located and maintained in facilities across the country, employing local people directly as well as supporting jobs within supply chains

  • UK-based aircraft provide the significant majority of the UK’s unique international connectivity (73%) and serve 85% of international routes and all domestic routes

  • Airlines with a UK operating certificate carry nearly 800,000 tonnes of air cargo annually – contributing to the 40% of the UK’s non-EU trade by value carried onboard aircraft

  • By 2050, the economic benefits of UK airlines are expected to grow and, by 2050, generate £111 billion of output and £41 billion of GVA

As well as the significant economic benefits to the UK of a growing airline sector, the report also highlights the need for a competitive aviation environment in an increasingly global market, especially where countries are supporting their domestic aviation industries to meet the costs of vital decarbonisation. If the share of passengers carried by airlines based in the UK fell 10% by 2050, the UK would lose tens of thousands of jobs and around £5bn in GVA that would otherwise be benefitting local communities.

 

Tim Alderslade, CEO of Airlines UK, said: “As we hit peak summer travel, this report showcases the huge value that based airlines bring to the whole of the UK, not just for leisure travel but also for UK businesses and companies trading overseas. This highlights the importance of keeping the UK a competitive place to base and grow an airline and, critically, the vital role of effective partnerships between Government and our sector on our path to net zero”.  

 

Aviation Minister, Baroness Vere, said: “As this report recognises, the UK is a global leader in aviation connectivity and innovation, supporting jobs and businesses across the country.

“The Government is committed to working in partnership with UK airlines and the wider industry to seize the opportunities that aviation decarbonisation can bring, through the Jet Zero Council and funding commitments such as £180 million to support the development of the UK SAF industry.”

Johan Lundgren, CEO, easyJet, commented: “The significant value of airlines like easyJet, with 178 aircraft based in the UK, is absolutely clear. Not only do we enable UK trade around the globe and bring visitors into the UK, but also ensure hard-working families can connect with friends and family, do business and enjoy well deserved holidays across Europe.

“The UK is easyJet’s largest market with more than half of our passengers flying to and from UK airports and over 10,000 people employed across the country. We continue to invest in the UK with a new three aircraft base in Birmingham opening next year and the benefits of this couldn’t be clearer with the creation of around 100 direct and many more indirect jobs and this also demonstrates our confidence in the resilient strength of demand for travel and connectivity in the UK.

“Decarbonising aviation is a major undertaking for which the whole sector is coming together and government and policy support is vital to help us to ensure a sustainable future so these benefits continue to be realised for the UK economy and society.”

Sean Doyle, Chairman and CEO, British Airways, said: “As we experience our busiest summer travel period since 2019, the report shows the value that UK airlines bring to the economy and how much our island nation needs the connectivity that airlines offer. With more than 250 aircraft based in the UK, British Airways makes a uniquely important contribution to the jobs and prosperity that aviation delivers.

“While we must all work together to ensure the aviation industry remains competitive, we must do so with sustainability at the heart of this. We must continue to work closely with industry and Government to effectively decarbonise our industry. This includes making the UK a competitive place to develop sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and getting the right policy support in place to produce more SAF right here in the UK, to ensure a more sustainable future for aviation.”

 

Shai Weiss, CEO, Virgin Atlantic, said: “UK airlines, including Virgin Atlantic, enable essential connectivity and trade that creates vital jobs and economic growth.”

“It’s crucial that UK Government acts on its behalf and sees UK aviation as a strategic asset, with policy that supports a thriving and globally competitive aviation sector, including an affordable hub airport at London Heathrow. UK leadership in decarbonisation can only be achieved through radical collaboration between industry and Government to create the right conditions for accessible Sustainable Aviation Fuel at scale, one of the best levers available to achieve net zero 2050 ambitions and unlock green growth.”