British Airways has once again called on the British government to urgently address the lack of new hub airport capacity in the south-east of England.

Responding to the government’s “Developing a sustainable framework for UK aviation” consultation, the airline warned that in order to support the UK economy there must be additional aviation capacity to meet growing demand for global connectivity.

In its submission, the airline argues that aviation supports more than 900,000 jobs in the UK and provides vital transport links for businesses across the country.

While London has developed one of the world’s best and most extensive networks of international air services, it is in danger of stagnating and falling behind competitors due to lack of new hub capacity.

Keith Williams, British Airways’ chief executive, said: “The government must take action now.

“There are no easy choices, but avoiding these choices is to undermine the UK aviation and aerospace industry and to hinder the economic recovery.”

He added: “We are already falling behind other European hubs in providing services to the booming markets of China and India.

“This will only continue unless the Government commits to allowing sustainable growth.

“The UK government has a choice. It can pursue sustainable growth, or simply manage a steady decline.”

While the number of direct services to China has stalled at Heathrow, rival hubs in Europe have continued to add services.

There are now 21 emerging market destinations with daily flights from other European hubs that are not served from Heathrow.

As a result UK passengers are increasingly being forced to transfer through alternative hubs such as Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam – effectively outsourcing the UK’s air transport needs.

The airline’s submission also dismissed plans for a high-speed rail link between Gatwick and Heathrow, and the creation of a “virtual hub”.

It argues that both airports currently operate at full capacity, and the logistical challenges would prove insurmountable.

Source: BTN

Passenger traffic at BAA airports rose slightly last month compared to March 2010, helped by the popularity of flights to China and India from London's Heathrow and growth at its three Scottish airports.

BAA, majority owned by Spanish infrastructure group Ferrovial, on Monday said 8.27 million passengers flew from its UK airports last month compared with 8.19 million in March 2010 when volumes were affected by British Airways strikes.

Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, served 5.33 million passengers, up 2.3 percent.

"The valuable trading connections to India and mainland China continue to see strong growth (from Heathrow), which suggests improving economic circumstances and the increasing importance of these economies," said BAA chief executive Colin Matthews.

The airport operator said the Heathrow-New York route continued to be the world's most popular transcontinental route with more than 3.6 million passengers flying from Heathrow to New York in the last year.

March 2011 saw an average of one departure an hour from Heathrow to New York during the day and one every 15 minutes during peak evening hours, BAA said.

BAA's Scottish airports recorded a 5.8 percent increase against the same month last year but traffic at London's Stansted airport was down 7.4 percent on last year, while Southampton in the south of England fell 8.7 percent.

"In the UK, consumer confidence remains fragile, affecting airports up and down the country. Continued rises in the price of oil are a concern for airlines and passengers in all our markets," said Matthews.

IAG-owned British Airways last week said it would raise the fuel surcharge on long-haul flights, further squeezing European consumers struggling with rising inflation and wage freezes.

Industry body IATA expects global airline profits to halve this year due to the rising price of jet fuel, which will likely offset increasing demand.

Brent crude futures settled above USD$126 a barrel on Friday, the highest level in 32 months, as commodities surged due to a weaker dollar and as intense fighting in Libya raised fears of prolonged supply cuts.

BAA said traffic to the Middle East was only moderately affected by unrest in the region and that its European services continued to perform well.

Source: Reuters

Britain's Civil Aviation Authority on Thursday said it was extending price controls at London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports for a further year to allow time for the UK government to introduce a new regime.

The current 5-year regime of price controls was set to run until end-March 2013 so the extra year will extend the regime until end-March 2014, under which the amount charged by airports to airlines is capped.

Ferrovial-owned BAA, which operates London's biggest airport Heathrow, supported the move.

BAA chief executive Colin Matthews said in a statement that the move would help the transition from the current legislative framework to a new one.

BAA was forced to sell off London's second biggest airport Gatwick to Global Infrastructure Partners in October 2009.

Source: Reuters