N E W S
UK BUSINESS AVIATION
UNDER THREAT OF
MARKET FAILURE
Agroup of politicians in the UK has warned
that business aviation in the country is
undergoing a “market failure” that will
result in the widespread loss of airfields
and aviation services.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on General
Aviation (AAP-GA) is a group of 222 politicians that
are lobbying the UK government to introduce policies
that will avert a crisis in the sector. The suggested
measures, which were made in response to a
government paper on the future of all aviation in the
UK, include greater regulatory autonomy for general
and business aviation, an overall strategy to reduce
red tape and the improvement of training for pilots.
Chair of the APPG-GA, Grant Shapps MP said, “It
is clear to us as a group that general aviation is now
facing a market-failure situation.
“As more of our airfields disappear under housing
developments and more of our common airspace
is closed off, the distribution of vital services for
10 | BU S INE S S A I R P O R T INT E RNAT I ONA L J U L Y 2 0 1 9
aviation across the UK is reaching a critical point. The
Government needs to wake up and take bold action
now if this situation is to be reversed.”
The AAPG-GA also believes that to resolve the
challenges faced by general aviation and ensure that
the sector thrives, there needs to be a significant
change in both attitude and policy to guarantee that
airfields, training and airspace are properly managed.
The group of MPs also called on the Government
to take the lead on proactively managing the
development of UK aviation at all levels.
Marc Bailey, chief executive of the British
Business and General Aviation Association said, “A
comprehensive research project is urgently required,
analyzing the shape of the network to meet the overall
aviation demands for the UK.”
A study by the European Business Aviation
Association puts the value of business aviation in the
UK at over €8 billion (US$9 billion) a year, supporting
over 40,000 jobs.
“The distribution
of vital services for
aviation across the
UK is reaching
a critical point”
Grant Shapps MP
Manston Airport in Kent,
UK closed in 2014 with
a loss of 144 jobs and is
now used as a car park