Vital to keep us connected if we are to deliver for the economy

ASK the business leaders in any part of Europe what they need most to ensure sustained economic growth and they will say good connectivity. So an airport is a valuable facility that needs to be nurtured and valued, just as Cornwall Newquay Airport and Exeter Airport are here in the South West.

But an airport is nothing without airlines to operate from it. And the loss of Flybe this week – already sickly and killed off by a lack of sufficient support from government and a drop in passenger numbers because of the coronavirus scare – has come as a serious blow to both Westcountry airports, but particularly to Exeter

Not only was the Devon site the airline’s headquarters, it also operated many flights from the runway there. Losing those flights, which helped to keep the South West connected to much of the rest of Britain, as well as destinations in Europe, badly damages the region and its prospects.

Britain, even more than many other nations in Europe, is a country where the capital city and its close environs hold too many of the economic cards. Airports around the perhiphery of the UK – and the airlines operating from them – help to level up the playing field.

There is a grave danger that unless Flybe can be rescued or sold as a going concern the future for a growing and prosperous Westcountry will be put back. Other regions, which also relied on the airlinks Flybe provided, will be similarly hit.

We understand the difficulties for the government in negotiating European rules on competition in order to intervene in the affairs of Flybe and deliver tax breaks that would have enabled the business to survive. We understand too, how any airline already struggling could be tipped over into administration by the shocks from the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on passenger confidence.

The perfect solution to this crisis would be for a new operator to take on the business and the majority of its routes. The second best would be for the most lucrative flights, which will also be the most popular, to be absorbed by other airlines. That, as the WMN reports today, appears to be happening. It needs to continue with more airlines moving in to take on Flybe flights.

And there is a bigger picture here that needs addressing. The government’s message, after December’s election victory, was that it wanted to ‘level-up’ the regions of Britain to reduce the imbalance between the economic activity concentrated in London and the South East and the rest of the country. After a significant swing to the Tories in former Labour seats in the north, that ‘levelling up’ was understandly first aimed at the north of England and newly minted Tory constituencies.

There are just as many Conservative seats in the South West. And voters here stayed loyal to Boris Johnson’s party in December, even though many might have thought they were given precious few reasons to do so. Whether through Flybe, rail links to London or upgrades on the roads, the government needs to show its commitment to our region’s connectivity. And quickly.