14 December 2006
The news services have been talking about the UK Government’s Progress Report on the Future of Air Transport. The original White Paper was published in 2003.
The main thrusts of today’s report are that the government is backing airport expansions at, for instance, Heathrow (a short third runway – do you think they’ll make it available to GA?) and Stansted (second runway); and a marked move towards ‘sustainability’ and the challenge of climate change and environmental issues.
Hidden away in the report, though, is a paragraph (4.20) on general aviation, which seems to further the impression that government is slowly becoming more aware of the light aviation sector (figures based on the CAA’s report in July):
‘The industry’s impact goes beyond commercial airports and airlines. The General Aviation (GA) sector (business jets and recreational flyers), for example, makes an important contribution to the economy. It is estimated that over 11,000 people are
employed in jobs directly related to GA, and the sector expenditure is estimated to be £1.4 billion, equivalent to about 8 per cent of total aviation expenditure.’
Read/download the full report from the DfT site: <a href=’http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_control/documents/contentservertemplate/dft_index.hcst?n=17484&l=2′ target=’_blank’>here</a>.
