BTA'S investment plea to new government

THE Business Travel Association has unveiled a ‘manifesto’ in which it urges the next government to invest in a range of infrastructure projects and sustainable travel initiatives.

It calls for the new government to support the expansion of Heathrow Airport and ensure access to the expanded airport for 14 regional airports. It also recommends that the government sees through the delivery of HS2 as planned, to improve connectivity across the North, and to implement the rail operation and ticketing reform recommendations of the as yet unpublished Williams Review.

There are also calls to reform APD and ultimately abolish it, to modernise UK airspace to help reduce pollution, and to encourage more investment in alternative fuels and the development of electric aircraft. “The government has been paralysed by Brexit,” says Clive Wratten, CEO of the BTA.