Cites Third Runway At Heathrow As Prime Example

The new Minister of Transport in the U.K. says the government is committed to aviation, and cites the addition of a third runway at Heathrow as an example of that commitment.

Speaking at the ABTA's Travel Matters conference in London, Lord Martin Callanan said that the nation's airspace is "a piece of the national infrastructure as important as our roads and railways. We’re a government that recognizes the vital importance of air travel to our country."

Buying  Business Travel reports that Lord Callanan said Britain is losing market share to competitors when it comes to air travel, and "that slide could continue" unless the third runway at Heathrow is built.

A vote in Parliament was planned for this coming winter on the third runway, but it is not known whether that will happen given the results of the recent general election. The Heathrow runway still has some strong opposition in the new cabinet, including foreign secretary Boris Johnson, who previously was Mayor of London, and supported a new airport built in the Thames estuary.

Callanan said that securing access to European aviation markets is a priority in the Brexit negotiations, which got underway in Brussels last week. He said the Heathrow expansion “could increase passenger choice, lower fares, and give the UK room to grow our travel links for decades to come."

(Image from file)

FMI: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-transport