The UK risks dropping out of the premier league of international connectivity, warns Heathrow ceo, Colin Matthews.
The current situation, with five European hubs, was unlikely to last as airlines continued to consolidate and rival airports in Europe and the Middle East expanded to compete for vital transfer passengers, he said, while speaking to the Airports Commission recently. The Commission, which was set up by the UK Government in 2012 to examine the need for additional UK airport capacity, will submit an interim report to the government by the end of the year identifying and recommending options for maintaining the UK’s status as an international hub for aviation. It will submit its final recommendations to government by summer 2015.
Colin said that Heathrow was one of only six airports in the world with regular, direct connections to more than 50 long-haul destinations, four of which are in Europe. But he warned that airlines were consolidating into fewer and larger carriers, which were concentrating their operations at fewer and larger intercontinental hubs. In Europe it is questionable whether all current hubs will survive.
“These straitened economic times have triggered a global economic race, with both companies and countries competing fiercely. If the UK does not want to be left behind by its foreign rivals, it must have the connectivity to compete and trade on the world stage. That connectivity can only come from a single hub airport in the right place for taxpayers, passengers and businesses. Only Heathrow can meet these demands,” he said.
