Airport boss slams claim region ‘needs Heathrow’
THE boss of Manchester Airport has accused Heathrow’s chief of making ‘misleading claims’ about its importance to Manchester passengers – and the UK economy.
Giving evidence to MPs over the proposed £14bn third runway at Heathrow, chief executive John Holland-Kaye claimed those living in areas like Greater Manchester ‘needed Heathrow’ to sustain business links with the world.
Mr Holland-Kaye also claimed that the services Manchester had won – like Cathay Pacific’s direct route to Hong Kong – were thanks to Heathrow trail-blazing the route first.
He emphasised the Heathrow’s ‘unique’ position to provide routes to countries like China, despite Manchester’s existing Beijing route along with Guangzhou and Shanghai services in the pipeline.
Mr Holland-Kaye said: “What is unique about a hub airport like Heathrow is that we can develop long-haul connections typically to the business destinations that the UK needs in order to grow its economy. It is important not just for London but for the whole of the UK that we are connecting all of Britain to the growing markets of the world.”
He said Heathrow needed to be the ‘main port of entry’ from China, adding: “We need to make sure that all of the UK benefits from connectivity, and only Heathrow expansion can deliver that.”
His statement riled Andrew Cowan, Manchester Airport CEO. Currently in India to progress intended routes to Delhi and Mumbai – and on a leadership team battling for a direct route to Shanghai – he said: “It is concerning that Heathrow continues to make misleading claims about its role in the UK economy. Contrary to Heathrow’s claim, it is far from being unique in connecting UK businesses to global markets.”
Mr Cowan argued that with its new services to China, the US and the Middle East in recent years, Manchester Airport had shown it’s the ‘north’s global gateway.’
Insisting the hub plays a huge role in driving the Northern Powerhouse forward, he added: “The truth is that airports across the UK are doing far more to support jobs and stimulate regional economic growth than Heathrow ever will. The next 10 years will be crucial for the UK economy and for rebalancing economic growth.
“That’s why we need government and politicians to focus on what they can do now to support growth and improved connectivity across the UK – and not be misled by Heathrow’s suggestion that it somehow has a monopoly on connecting Britain to the world.”
It comes just a week after the UK signed a deal with China for 50 more weekly flights – all for non-London airports.
Meanwhile, the Chinese government has awarded the rights for airline Hainan to fly Manchester to Guangzhou – with a commercial deal yet to be done.
Figures show that in its first year, the Manchester-Hong Kong connection boosted demand for travel between the north and China by 25 per cent.
Mr Holland-Kaye was speaking at the Transport Select Committee which will be sitting all this week.
Manchester Airport currently serves 210 destinations while Heathrow has 180 destinations.