Speech delivered by Paul Kehoe, CEO Birmingham Airport, on 10th June 2013 to an audience in Birmingham
Introduction
I’d like to welcome you all to today’s launch and thank Mark and Sir Albert for their kind words.
This is a critical time for UK aviation. The Government will be making decisions in the next 24 months that will affect the competitiveness of the Midlands for a generation, or more.
Clearly, Britain’s aviation arrangements are failing to meet the needs of passengers and the economy. That is not just my view. It is the view of political leaders from all parties.
The Airports Commission was formed last November. And Sir Howard Davies has put down a challenge to the industry to deliver a long-term vision for UK aviation that will support balanced economic growth.
This challenge has been set with the backdrop of a recession and an aviation industry that is rapidly changing in response to global trends.
We have to plan for a doubling in air traffic over the next fifty years. And I think we are all beginning to realise that it is unsustainable to keep relying on a system that funnels a third of our traffic through a constrained Heathrow.
Over the last ten years, we have seen a dramatic rise in new city trading pairs and point-to-point travel. This is being reflected in the development of new aircraft – Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
We have also seen the growth of new airline business models. The rise of the Gulf airlines and the Asian economies has led to a reorientation of global air travel to the East and a new fight has emerged for hub dominance.
The future shape of the industry is unclear.
What it is becoming increasingly apparent is that a one airport solution is not a national aviation strategy. It will not give the UK the resilience or flexibility it needs to be respond to these trends in the long-run.
We need a strategy that delivers for the economy – not just in the South East, but across the whole of the UK.
And so today, we are here to launch our vision for the future of the Airport. A vision, we believe, will both unlock and respond to the economic potential of our region.
Birmingham Airport has the second largest business catchment of any long-haul airport in Britain. Our catchment economy generated £55 billion pounds of exports last year and is specialised in high-value manufacturing sectors – automotive, aerospace, machinery, military equipment and transport goods.
But, despite this, the UK’s greatest manufacturing region does not have the direct connectivity it needs to support our businesses and customers.
That is why we are here today. Because, as a region, we recognise that the past thirty years has not been good enough.
Our vision is about ensuring that our children have the infrastructure and connectivity they need to plug into global wealth.
We have already made a commitment to serving local businesses. Next year, our £70 million pound runway extension will be fully operational. This will deliver long-haul capacity to serve the region’s needs and help take the pressure off the South East in the short-term.
But is about responding to the Airports Commission and delivering our vision for expanding the airport to better serve passengers and local businesses.
Our vision for Birmingham Airport aligns with existing investment plans
Our response to the Airports Commission has been carefully designed to align with existing regional development and national transport investment strategies: the M42 gateway, HS2, the Greater Birmingham Project.
What we are proposing is not just about runways. Taken together, these strategies will establish an economic hub for the Midlands.
We have the opportunity to launch a 15 year infrastructure and transport investment that will secure the Midland’s role in the UK, and international, economy for the twenty-first century.
And our proposals have wide stakeholder support – which is visible from the people gathered here today. You will more from some of our leading business leaders shortly.
So, what exactly are we proposing?
We have been asked by the Airports Commission to submit information as to why further development of aviation capacity is needed, in line with national demand in order to maintain the UK’s position as an international hub for aviation.
The 2003 Aviation White Paper safeguarded a second runway for Birmingham Airport to the West of the current runway. What we are proposing is to shift that location to the East so that it can be aligned with HS2.
The new site will mean that Birmingham Airport could handle up to 70 million passenger per year. The advantage of moving the runway location is that there would be further room for development in response to future need.
But I have to emphasise that we are talking about twenty, thirty, forty years from now. We must have a vision for the future. A vision that gives future generations the infrastructure they need to compete in the international economy.
Our runway extension will take the pressure off airports in the South East in the short-term, but we must prepare for what comes next.
How does this fit into a national aviation strategy?
I have said it before, and I will say it again, I don’t think that a third runway at Heathrow is the right solution.
It is a 10 million passenger answer to a 100 million passenger problem.
Expanding Heathrow to beyond 480,000 Air Traffic Movements will simply expose too many people living in West London to unacceptable noise and air pollution.
What we need is Great Airports for Great Cities. This means London, Birmingham and Manchester all having the airports they need to succeed. A network of airports to provide the flexibility and resilience the UK needs to respond to changes in aviation industry.
If the Commission decides that the solution to the South East is a new mega-hub, and it can overcome the immense challenges to building it, Birmingham Airport is ideally placed to support London during that transition period.
However, if the Commission decides to operate Heathrow as a constrained hub and chooses to expand existing airports, Birmingham Airport will be an essential piece of the puzzle. Our central location makes us an ideal location for a more dispersed aviation model for UK aviation. As they have in Germany.
Birmingham Airport meets the Commission’s criteria
Our proposal meets the Commission’s criteria because it is not just about runways – it is fundamentally about serving the economy.
The result give the region the vital infrastructure it needs to keep the greater Midlands economy plugged into global wealth for the next century.
I sincerely believe that an expanded Birmingham is the best way to serve our manufacturing industries, our great British exports and the Midlands economy.
And for the national economy, having great long-haul airports across the UK will help rebalance growth.
We believe that the UK’s great cities need great airports to compete in the twenty-first century.
Today we are announcing that we can build one for Birmingham.
