Will airports expansion drive regional economic growth? MPs question Minister and experts
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.
Meeting details
MPs will question Aviation Minister Mike Kane 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.