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Closing regional airports won't save the planet

Unions are right to highlight the need to rescue “regional” airports

TRADE UNIONS such as Unite and the GMB are right to highlight the need for concerted action to rescue so-called “regional” airports from run-down and even closure.

For decades, airports in Scotland, Wales and the English regions have suffered in competition with Heathrow and Gatwick in particular. Between them, London airport managements, major airlines, the Civil Aviation Authority and central governments in London have stacked the cards against the smaller players.

Now the impact of the coronavirus threatens to finish off some of the regional airports altogether. If that happens, there will be no green-silver lining. As we recover from lock-downs and travel bans, it just means that yet more business in future will go to the London and one or two other big airports elsewhere.

That, in turn, will mean that many more people intending to travel abroad will make long oil-guzzling journeys inland in order to catch their international flights.

At risk, too, are thousands of jobs in local economies. As Unite has pointed out, Bristol airport supports 15,000 jobs in addition to those workers directly employed and contributes £1.3bn to the regional economy. Glasgow airport sustains 8,200 jobs and puts £590m into Scotland’s economy every year.

The collapse of Flybe in early March tipped six smaller airports in England, Wales and Scotland closer to the edge. The airline was already struggling, and the fall in demand as a consequence of Covid-19 proved to be the final straw.

The Tory government was frightened out of a £100m rescue loan to Flybe by Ryanair and British Airways owner IAG, which threatend legal action to enforce EU anti-state-aid rules, which apply until the end of 2020.

Trade unions have since called for aid packages for Cardiff, Southampton, Exeter, Newquay, Wick and Anglesey airports — all of which which relied heavily on Flybe business — with financial support for connecting routes, surface-transport links and local-authority development plans (including in some cases a possible return to municipal ownership).

Unfortunately, the unions have not made clear that this would mean defying EU rules during the current Brexit “transition period.”

Reducing levels of Air Passenger Duty would also boost demand for flights, although Johnson’s government raised some duties in April instead of cutting APD as originally promised.

The Welsh Labour government’s case for devolving APD to Cardiff has been rejected by central government in order to prevent a planned local reduction. At present, several million Welsh passenger flights a year go from Bristol, Birmingham or London — leaving a gigantic carbon footprint — and the Tory government intends to keep it that way.

The Scottish government had boasted of plans to use its superior devolved powers to replace APD with a lower Air Departure Tax, but these have been shelved. For the time being, the SNP administration prefers to hide behind English-run arrangements rather than offend environmentalists and the EU by cutting the duty.

At present, Britain’s private-sector airports and airlines are the epitome of anarchy and chaos. Alongside our environment, the main victims are the workers and travellers who rely upon them.

There will be no planning, balanced development, job security or green common sense in the air-travel sector without the reintroduction of extensive public ownership of airports and airlines.

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