February 20, 2012

Three of the top trade associations for the British aviation sector have united to call on the Government to take a “bold” approach to aviation policy and to prioritise a favourable planning regime and aviation job creation.

The Airport Operators Association (AOA), the British Air Transport Association (BATA) and the ADS Group, which represents the aerospace, defence, security and space industries, have issued a public statement to the Government, highlighting the importance of aviation to the British workforce.

“As the Coalition Government recognises, the UK’s economy needs to compete in both established and emerging markets,” the groups said in the statement. “This requires excellent aviation connectivity right across the country, ensuring the UK has both vibrant point to point airports and sufficient world class hub capacity.

“This means prioritising a favourable planning and regulatory regime and developing a bold aviation policy, permitting new airport capacity where required.”

The chief executive of BATA, Simon Buck, said that there are nearly 1 million direct airline and aviation jobs in the UK economy, and many more that are dependant upon the industry.

Buck explained, “If one looks at the wider visitor economy as a whole, its direct and indirect impact is 8.2 per cent of GDP, equivalent to £114 billion and 2.6 million jobs.”