GTMC calls for more UK airport capacity
Half of business travellers outside of Central London and the South East have to use non-UK airports to reach their destination.
According to a survey of more than 1000 respondents by the Guild of Travel Management Companies, 50% said they are not able to access all the markets they need due to a lack of accessibility from their closest airport.
As a result, they have to resort to using a non-UK hub as the quickest way to get their final destination.
More than one third of respondents (34%) said that they use non-UK hub airports because of better and more convenient flight times, while a quarter (27%) stated that they use them because they are unable to get to the destinations they want direct from their closest airport.
In addition, when asked if Heathrow Airport had a greater range of destinations then more than a third (34%) said they would happily switch from using a non-UK hub to Heathrow.
Four out of five respondents (84%) also called for more long haul options out of regional airports, with 60% stating that these long haul flights need to be direct.
"The message from regional business travellers is clear. Huge numbers of them are not flying from their closest regional airport or via a UK hub such as Heathrow as they simply don’t offer routes to the destinations they require," said GTMC chief executive Paul Wait.
"With no more capacity to increase the number of routes or their frequency many opt to connect to their final destination via more well serviced foreign hubs such as Amsterdam’s Schipol or Paris’ Charles de Gaulle. The UK economy therefore risks continuing to lose out.
"We strongly encourage the Government and Davies Commission decision makers to look at our hub capacity and ensure that regional business travellers are provided with the range of destinations served from the UK where they want to do business."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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