Whether expanding airports in the south east of England can
benefit the rest of the UK economy will be the focus of a
Transport Committee evidence session.
MPs will question Aviation Minister MP and a senior Department for
Transport official, following a panel with economists and
industry experts.
It comes after the Government recently announced support for a
third runway at Heathrow and proposed expansions at Gatwick,
Luton and other airports.
Witnesses may be asked to consider economic factors linked to
airport expansion such as: the tourism industry, tax revenues
generated, the UK's large aircraft manufacturing sector,
increased capacity for air freight, and catalytic effects on
other businesses.
The New Economics
Foundation, which is represented among witnesses in this
session, has said it has been “some time” since the Government
has assessed the “marginal economic impact” that airports
expansion may have. The think tank has also pointed to varying
methods of calculating the net economic impact that increased air
travel has on the UK economy. For example, whether greater
outbound travel by Brits could see a larger proportion of
consumer spending happen abroad rather than at home, and to what
extent that is offset by money spent in the UK from international
tourists.
Heathrow has itself previously said that
expansion would mean growing its workforce of 28,600 people to
over 100,000. The cross-party Committee will question a
representative of Frontier Economics, a think tank commissioned
by Heathrow Airport to look into the potential economic benefits
of building a third runway.
There will also be questions about the capacity of airports
around the UK, whether they are surpassing or failing to meet
demand, forecasts on future demand, and the role that larger
‘hub' airports could play with smaller regional ones – a ‘hub and
spoke' model.
The Minister and DfT will be asked to explain how airport
expansion will fit into a wider national strategy for the
aviation sector, and how air travel strategically links with
other transport networks such as roads and railways.
Witnesses from 09:15
- Chris Cuttle, Associate Director, Frontier Economics
- Dr Alex Chapman, Senior Economist, New Economics
Foundation
- Prof. Brian Pearce, Executive Director, Air Transportation
Systems Laboratory, University College London
- Marc Postle, Independent economic consultant
From 10:15
-
MP - Minister for Aviation,
Department for Transport
- David Silk - Director of Aviation, Department for
Transport
