Summer disruption in spotlight next week at transport committee hearing

The Transport Select Committee is to host a one-off evidence session from 9.15am on Wednesday (12 October) examining the problems faced across the aviation, rail and maritime sectors which caused major delays for UK travellers.

MPs will consider whether the issues were “foreseeable or preventable” and discuss what the current government can do to make travel plans more certain for consumers. 

Stewart Wingate, chief executive of Gatwick, Sophie Dekkers, chief commercial officer at easyJet, and Lisa Tremble, British Airways’ corporate and sustainability director, will each give evidence as part of the session. 

The committee will also hear from travel journalist Simon Calder, representatives from the RMT and Unite unions and Doug Bannister, chief executive of Port of Dover.

Earlier this summer, committee chair Huw Merriman told TTG he was drawing up a “shopping list” of proposals to help the industry work through future crises like the pandemic.

Merriman criticised the lack of sector-specific support during the pandemic, and singled out agents as needing particular help.