IATA director general Giovanni Bisignani has strongly criticised the UK's aviation policy, calling it short-sighted with a focus on excessive taxes, inefficient airport regulation and limiting growth.
In a speech delivered to the UK Aviation Club in London today, Bisignani accused the UK Government of being "intent on destroying [the country's] competitiveness with a policy agenda focused on increasing costs and limiting capacity growth".
Bisignani calls the UK's air passenger duty "misguided" and says the economic regulatory model for airports is "broken and must urgently be fixed".
The IATA chief believes that the UK Government's decision not to construct a third runway at London Heathrow was "incredibly short-sighted", and that Heathrow as a result is "becoming a secondary hub", losing out to Frankfurt, Amsterdam Schiphol, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Madrid Barajas.
"The UK has a long history of seeing its industries lose their competitive edge. It also has a great tradition of leadership in aviation. But any industry can only take so many knocks before the damage is permanent," says Bisignani.
Government plans to sell off all or part of its remaining stake in air navigation service NATS must be "carefully considered", warns Bisignani, who sits on NATS' board.
He adds: "A golden share or keeping some of the shares for the Government are options. And any change must include an effective regulatory structure that drives further efficiencies."
Bisignani concludes that the UK Government's "policy pillars of excessive taxes, inefficient airport regulation and limiting growth will destroy" the country's aviation legacy.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
