Heathrow in Jeopardy says GBTA
The Guild of Business Travel Agents is urging the government to keep Heathrow high on the agenda for additional runway development.
At a House of Commons briefing to some 100 MPs, the GBTA warned that without an additional runway, Heathrow's position as a leading world hub is in jeopardy.
"An additional runway at Stansted will not be enough to meet demand in the south east," said Adam White, GBTA deputy chairman. "From an international travel perspective, Heathrow is still the airport of choice, but we are already seeing business travellers by-pass Heathrow because it is so congested and fly via Paris, Amsterdam or Frankfurt"
"In the time it takes for our government to reach a decision about an additional terminal or runway in the south east, our counterparts in Paris or Amsterdam have designed and built the terminal and got passengers flying in and out of it. As a nation, we are in danger of being left behind."
The Guild also took the opportunity to continue lobbying in favour of legislation which will protect the scheduled airline passenger.
"We have long said that there needs to be some sort of protection in place for scheduled airline passengers if an airline goes bust. We fully support the CAA's recent recommendations for setting up some sort of protection scheme and urge the government to close this loophole in the travel industry, " said Adam White.
"As more airlines are privately owned, and the market becomes ever more competitive, the lack of protection is a serious issue."
The GBTA's final plea to the government was to ensure that security measures required for entry into the US are implemented in a practical and feasible manner. According to the Guild, If the US introduces its Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) next year, there will be a cost attached to fulfilling the system's requirements.
"British business travellers could end up footing the bill for the additional cost involved in relaying information to the US prior to take off," explained Adam White. "We need well a thought-out process, not a one-sided dictatorial approach."
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For further information: Vanessa Aves/Keira Garrigan, Brighter Group, tel: 020 7603 2168