A flight to frustration

Jul 15 2009 by Hugh Lang, The Journal

Measures are needed now to ensure our regional air services can continue to serve North East business, says Hugh Lang.

ONE of the most frustrating experiences for any business is finding yourself in the position where you feel you are in the hands of forces beyond your control - where you are doing things right, but still things are not turning out as you hoped.

Well, on the face of it, that’s exactly the position in which Durham Tees Valley Airport , in common, I’m sure, with many other businesses across the North East, has found itself over the past year.

It really is a reflection of the strange and turbulent times we live in that an airport rated by the highly respected Which? organisation as among the top 10 in the country for customer satisfaction, should experience a 12% reduction in its year-on-year passenger numbers.

That sounds pretty grim. But in reality it is line with falls experienced by many other regional airports-including our near-neighbours at Newcastle. It may be cold comfort, but we are not alone in finding ourselves buffeted by the child winds of global recession.

Air travel really is a barometer of the economic climate and, like the weather, it can experience dramatic rises and falls-most recently demonstrated with British Airways swinging from huge profits to record losses in just 12 months.

Of course, the general economic turndown lies at the heart of the difficult times which we and almost every other part of the industry are going through. But there are specific issues which make the challenges even tougher...and where we need the help of others to address.

When bmi announced a few months ago that, after decades of operating its highly-valued service from Durham Tees Valley to London Heathrow, it was pulling out it was made very clear that it wasn’t because of anything we were doing wrong - or because it was not popular and well-used.

When Ryanair announced a similar decision to withdraw its Dublin service soon the message was the same - indeed, the airline continues to operate successful services from Durham Tees Valley to Alicante and Girona and has made clear it would be keen to explore opportunities for other routes.

The common theme affecting bmi and Ryanair was “big airport” charges - Heathrow in the case of bmi and Dublin in the case of Ryanair - an issue which will remain critical to the future of regional air services even after we climb out of the current recession.

The reality is: So long as you have a charging system at London Heathrow which effectively penalises airlines operating regional services - it costs almost the same for the smaller type of aircraft used on those services as it does for a Jumbo operating on international routes - the decline in those vital links to the UK regions will continue.

During this difficult time, one of the most reassuring aspects has been the very strong support the airport has received from across the community - from the general public, the local business community, our local authorities...and the region’s MPs who have led the way in impressing on government ministers the critical importance of regions such as the North East having access to London and the worldwide air transport network.

It does seem there is a willingness on the Government’s part to examine possible ways in which regional services could be protected - perhaps by ring-fencing slots at Heathrow. The Transport Secretary has stressed that providing a third runway at Heathrow would help provide capacity for flights to the regions.

That may be a long-term answer. But there is a danger it could come too late unless measures are taken to prevent Heathrow becoming a total “no go area” for the regions. That’s surely a prospect nobody in the North East wants to see.

Hugh Lang is group airports director, Peel Airports Group.