Airline sector urges government to act on transport committee report

The Airport Operators Association and Airlines UK urged the government to act on the report, entitled UK Aviation: Reform for Take-off, which covers the pandemic and the industry’s recovery afterwards.

AOA chief executive Karen Dee said: “The transport select committee’s report provides welcome recognition of the devastating impact the pandemic had on aviation and the difficulty UK airports faced as a result of ever-changing travel restrictions, without the necessary transparency and evidence base to build trust in the rules.

“We join the committee in calling for a comprehensive recovery package that allows our sector to recover sustainably and prevents the UK from falling behind our international competitors.”

This must include financial incentives to restart routes, she said. 

“If government does not deliver this, the impacts are clear: people and businesses who depend on aviation for their own success will carry the heaviest burden, particularly outside London and the south-east of England.”

Airlines UK chief executive Tim Alderslade added: “This summer should be a bumper one, and for many routes we’re seeing demand above where we were in 2019. But we can’t lose sight of the fact the sector has been through its worst ever crisis and it will take several years to deal with the debt airlines had to take on to make it through the pandemic with no passengers.”

He also called for investment in sustainable fuels and reorganisation of UK airspace to make it more efficient.

Alderslade said the report had criticised Heathrow for raising passenger fees to record levels.

“Heathrow are an outlier within the sector in wanting to downgrade the pace of recovery – to suit their own regulatory agenda – and the CAA needs to be alive to that. We’re talking about passenger charges for the next five years and they need to get it right.” 

A Heathrow spokesperson urged the CAA to offer a definitive ruling on its fee structure. “The CAA has already delayed its decision on airport charges more than once. Another delayed decision risks undermining the critical investments we need to make to get on with delivering the improvements that will benefit Heathrow passengers for years to come, such as upgrading baggage systems and streamlining security lanes.”

The report also urged greater powers for the CAA to fine carriers that fail to deal adequately with issues like delays.

Paul Smith, CAA consumer director, said: “We have regularly asked for stronger consumer enforcement powers, including the ability to impose fines on airlines. This would allow us to take faster action when appropriate and bring our powers in line with other sectoral regulators.

“Proposals outlined in the government’s recent consultation on enforcement powers, which are supported by the committee, will if implemented improve passenger rights and equip the CAA with better tools to act swiftly and effectively for the benefit of consumers.”