The Aviation White Paper and the Highlands & Islands Tom MatthewHighlands & Islands Enterprise
“The Highlands”
Inverness Services:Present Provision
Research Into The Impacts Of Loss of Inverness-Gatwick Service (1) Independent study, undertaken in December 2001 This was before: * easyJet Gatwick service * bmi Heathrow service Based on loss of full service operator with additional services to Luton or Stansted
Research Into The Impacts Of Loss of Inverness-Gatwick Service (2) Long term impact could be greater - not least through perceptions of the region being: “peripheral, with minimal interlining and premier routes from the South East” Impacts generally felt in “premier” businesses “Traditional” cost-benefit analysis cannot quantify the negative impacts in terms of trips no longer made… Yet when Inverness-Heathrow ceased in 1997, traffic between London and Inverness fell by 20%
Impact equals one in every hundred jobs in the region Loss of “premier” businesses: * regional GDP per capita is only 75% of the UK level * under 3% of the region’s businesses employ more than 50 people
Significance of Interlining In the case of Inverness: “some firms were there on the assumption that they could easily get to London and the US” (Alastair Darling) but….. The White Paper defines “London” as: Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and City
“London” Airports:Service Profiles
Possible Alternatives? Markets too thin to support extensive direct services to non-UK hubs Surface access: only one direct daytime train between Inverness and London which takes 8 hours
Conclusions Air services to London generate very significant economic benefits This must include connections to hub airports, with adequate frequencies and timings Interlining opportunities are essential, especially where the remote airport has limited connectivity “Defined circumstances” for a PSO should reflect surface travel alternatives
Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: |
