Birmingham Airport CEO asks MPs to consider ways to remove the barriers preventing the full utilisation of existing airport capacity

• The reluctance of airlines to operate long-haul direct services from UK airports, other than Heathrow.
• Complex inter-governmental agreements which specify which foreign airlines can fly where.
• Air Passenger Duty.
• Undercharging at Heathrow because of price caps.
• The need to improve surface access to airports.

After giving evidence, Paul Kehoe, Chief Executive of Birmingham Airport, said:

“The only thing that this country should be worrying about is how we are going to grow our economy – and we won’t do that by relying on one corner of the country to act as a crutch to prop up the economies outside of the South East.“To boost growth, local businesses across the UK need international connectivity so that they can trade, and this will only be achieved it we make the most of the existing capacity we have at our airports. “There are a number of barriers that stand in the way of making the most of our existing airport infrastructure, but where there is a will there is a way.

“I hope that the industry can continue to work together with Government to help remove these barriers, and start to build a progressive aviation sector that is at the heart of the UK’s economic recovery.” Birmingham Airport’s submission to the Government's Draft Aviation Framework outlines some suggested policy-levers that the Government could adopt to help make best use of existing capacity. The report can be downloaded here.