Rafael Schvartzman, IATA Regional Vice president for Europe was an expert witness at the UK Transport Select Committee on 18 December 2017. The Committee is reviewing aspects of the Government's National Policy Statement on airport capacity, especially the decision to expand Heathrow airport.
Rafael pushed four key messages above all. When challenged on the importance of Heathrow as a hub airport, he strongly argued that a hub was vital for ensuring the air links on which the UK depends especially in a post-Brexit world. Such connections cannot be sustained by origin-destination traffic only but by attracting transfer traffic, they become viable. Similarly for cargo, the ability to hub operations was vital. Evidence for this was that in December, Heathrow will process 132,000 tons of freight, including exports of Devon cream, and Scottish salmon and whiskey.
Secondly, Rafael was clear that the domestic links to Heathrow desired by the committee would only be financially viable for airlines if costs are competitive. Airlines in Europe are operating on thin margins, and the high cost of charges at Heathrow* could make the viability of domestic routes marginal. It was vital, he noted, that Hetahrow charges remain flat or are reduced and the UK's Air Passenger Duty (APD) should be cut on domestic return flights. One way to reduce the costs of the new Heathrow runway would be to allow for other developers to competitively tender for the work.
Thirdly, the importance of reformed and modernized air traffic management was stressed. Rafael drew a seasonal comparison saying "Expanding Heathrow without putting in place the necessary air traffic control reforms would be like buying a Christmas tree and not putting any decorations on it. the government must support the Future Airspace Strategy which is looking to make critical improvements to the airspace".
Further analyzing the issue of night flights, Rafael Schvartzman noted that proposals to ban flights before 6am would mean Britain potentially losing out on valuable connections to the Far East. These flight shave limited slot flexibility and if they cannot land in Heathrow, will instead be scheduled to go to Frankfurt, Paris or Amsterdam. Given that the UK is already 1hour behind, a 5am landing at Frankfurt for example, would create a 2hour head-start over Heathrow; assuming flights could not land before 6am. Clearly, the industry supports the need for meaningful respite from noise however, this can be achieved while allowing valuable and established connections to be safeguarded.
*According to the Leigh Fisher review of Airport Charges 2016, Heathrow is 35% more expensive than Frankfurt, 60% more expensive than Paris CDG, 115% more expensive than Amsterdam Schiphol and 175% more expensive than Dubai (DXB)
