UK airlines comment on Heathrow expansion vote – “a welcome shot in the arm for UK plc, but concerns about cost and early morning operations remain”

June 26th, 2018

Commenting on parliamentary support being given to expansion at Heathrow Airport, Tim Alderslade, Chief Executive of Airlines UK, the industry association that represents UK carriers, said:

“This is a welcome shot in the arm for UK plc, and a sign that there is clear political consensus within the House of Commons for taking this project to the next stage. Airlines stand ready to respond to the unlocking of new capacity by creating new routes and helping to connect the UK to new markets and destinations. The economic boost this will provide to all regions of the UK will be transformational.   

“We’ve always said that we have concerns about some elements of the scheme – notably on future charges, as well as the impact of restrictions on early morning operations on UK connectivity for cargo and passengers – and we will continue to work constructively with the CAA on designing a regulatory regime that will ruthlessly protect passengers from increased costs. We fully expect the Secretary of State to enforce his stated aim of keeping passenger charges at today’s levels but until we receive complete clarity on this our support for the new runway will remain conditional for now.”