‘Government is ignoring regional airports’

PEEL Airports, the owners of Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield, has criticised the Government for failing to recognise the role of regional airports in the UK’s economic recovery.

In a response to the Government’s consultation on its Draft Aviation Policy Framework, the group said there was a need for a coherent national aviation policy which, “places the industry and regional airports at the heart of the economic drive for recovery”.

Peel describes the Draft Aviation Policy Framework as a “missed opportunity” because it fails to address issues such as airport capacity, the importance of regional airports, aviation taxation and regulatory costs. The company also said Air Passenger Duty has damaged the industry and regional economies.

Chief executive Craig Richmond said: “Airports such as ours have the opportunity to get the UK regional and national economy back on track, however we need Government policy to work with us, not against us. In its current form this Draft Policy Framework will do nothing to improve the current situation.

“There must be no further delays – Peel Airports joins with others in the industry and calls for an independent study of the economic impact of APD on the industry and the economy, as suggested during last Thursday’s Parliamentary debate on the subject. We also need to see a joined-up approach by the Treasury, the Department for Transport and the industry on resolving the APD issue in the interest of regional economies and UK plc.”