John Holland-Kaye Chief Executive Officer Heathrow

Transcription

1 John Holland-Kaye Chief Executive Officer Heathrow 8 th February 2016 Check against delivery It is a great pleasure to see so many old friends here this evening. Thank you for joining us and for your continued support. I feel very proud to see how far we have come in 70 years. Tents replaced with world class terminals. Walks across tarmac with airbridges. A thriving local community that has benefitted from international businesses clustering around the airport, bringing jobs and new housing. Planes have got quieter and cleaner, and can go further, putting Heathrow within a direct flight of 95% of the world s economy. Heathrow s trading routes now carry over a quarter of the UK s exports and have given Britain its competitive advantage for the last 70 years. But you will have noticed two things that haven t changed. As we have grown from less than 1 million to 75 million passengers a year, we are still operating off the same two runways. It says much for British ingenuity that we can squeeze so much out of so little, but we are at the point where it is Britain that is being squeezed; regional airports cut off from the UK s hub and connections to international markets; not enough cargo capacity to meet the demand for exports; not enough flights to the growing markets of the world. Britain is falling behind, when we should be taking the lead. Only by choosing Heathrow can the Prime Minister secure our country s future. Now I didn t hope to be here discussing expansion today I hoped to be delivering it. That is what we do we deliver. But if the government feels the need to take a few more months now to ensure that its decision is robust, then I am with them. What matters is not when a decision is made, but when Heathrow s new runway is serving Britain. 1

2 In December, the government paved the way for that decision. In accepting the Airport Commission s first report, which said that there should be a new runway at Heathrow or Gatwick, they reversed their 2010 manifesto commitment that there should be no new runways in the South East. They committed to a final decision in the summer and the fact that there is now an army of people in the DFT preparing the legislation suggests they are gearing up to do it. Today I want to set out how we are getting ready to deliver, why I believe the Prime Minister will say yes to Heathrow, and what you can do to help. So how are we getting ready to deliver? A 16 billion pound private sector investment is a huge shot in the arm for the construction sector, and we are working with our supply chain, politicians, the FSB and other big infrastructure projects to create a legacy of skilled jobs in all regions of the UK that will benefit Britain for years to come. We will soon announce the chair of the Heathrow Skills Taskforce, who will work with employers, the TUC, local councils, schools, colleges and universities to plan for 40,000 jobs locally and 10,000 apprenticeships, the chance to end youth unemployment around Heathrow. We are consulting with our neighbours and airlines to ensure our plan meets their needs and can be delivered as efficiently as possible. We are planning to make an expanded Heathrow not just the best connected airport in the world, but also the world leader in sustainability. We can deliver. Now you may hear people say that any planning application will get bogged down in judicial reviews. While no big infrastructure project is easy, the unnecessary delays to the approval of Terminal 5 led to a change in the planning laws. There is now a well-established process 2

3 which allows for full consultation, but sticks to a clear timeline and this is the process the government has chosen to use. And because we have been consulting with our local community for three years already, our plan addresses many of the potential issues. On planning, we can deliver. You may hear that air quality is a problem. Not so. Heathrow today meets all EU air quality standards and with expansion, we will still meet them in fact we won t release new capacity until we can demonstrate that is the case. What you may not have heard is that we are the environmental leader in our sector - we have reduced emissions by 16% over 5 years and are the only airport in the world to have signed the Paris Pledge on climate change. On the environment, we can deliver. You may hear that it is too expensive. Quite the opposite increasing competition and choice will give better value for passengers, more than offsetting a 4 increase in landing fees. On costs, we can deliver. And you will hear from USS, one of our investors, shortly. You may hear that Heathrow is politically too difficult. At our event in July, Graham Brady, the Chairman of the Conservative 1922 committee estimated that in a free vote, 90% of MPs would support it. Our polling suggests around 70%, but apparently pollsters can underestimate support, so Graham may be right! Either way, on politics, we can deliver. And you will hear today from Catherine McKinnell and Steve Double 2 MPs who lead regional groups representing over 80 MPs between them all backing Heathrow expansion. Ah, but what about no ifs, no buts? Well when the facts change, our politicians aren t just allowed to change their minds we trust that they will. We have changed our plan completely to meet the tests the Prime Minister himself set fewer people impacted by aircraft noise, offering more predictable respite, meeting environmental limits, ending routine stacking over London, being fair to local people. We have U-turned so the Prime Minister doesn t have to. On doing the right thing we can deliver. What you are hearing are excuses for doing nothing. Well, we in this room we are people who deliver. We are the people who believe that we should reclaim Britain s position as the best connected country in the world from the French. 3

4 We believe that the regions and nations of Britain are better served by regular flights to the UK s hub airport, not Paris or Dubai. Lets make it easier and cheaper for our exporters and their exports to get all over the world and for inward investors, tourists and students to get here. You will hear from Radisson about this shortly. We believe that we can give a better quality of life for people in Britain not by having no growth but by growing sustainably. You will hear from a member of our local community about this shortly. The Prime Minister can say Yes to Heathrow. Why am I so confident? Well you would think that if he sees the Airports Commission as the model for his National Infrastructure Commission, surely he thinks they were effective. If he has appointed Sir Howard Davis to chair RBS, surely he trusts his judgement. If he has accepted the Airport Commission s first report surely he will accept the second, which said Yes to Heathrow. But maybe I am being too logical. This is a political decision. So let us put ourselves in the Prime Minister s shoes. Do you choose the new Heathrow plan which delivers your vision; economic security for hardworking families, more exports to emerging markets to tackle the deficit, supporting the northern powerhouse. The only option that today serves the main Northern airports and with expansion could serve Liverpool and Humberside also. A new plan, designed to meet all your environmental targets and which has the support from the majority of local communities. The only plan that creates hundreds of thousands of skilled jobs, that has the support of every major employer s group, as well as the unions as we saw in July when the leaders of the CBI and the TUC shared a platform in support. The only location which all the airlines BA, Virgin, EasyJet, flybe and dozens of others agree is the right one and want to fly from. The only option that the Commission said was future proofed for any future scenario. 4

5 The only promoter with a track record of delivering huge infrastructure projects on time and on budget, and which is seen as the most financially robust option by Moody's. The only plan with a strong policy basis, following the unanimous and unequivocal support of the Airports Commission. The only plan which you know you can get through parliament because it has the backing of the majority of MPs across all the major parties, as well as politicians in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. A resilient plan, which puts the airport at the heart of the UK s transport system, served by 5 motorways and 5 railway lines. But of course as Prime Minister, you have a choice. You could choose the option that will not get us to emerging markets, which does nothing for the regions of the UK, or for exports, that delivers a fraction of the jobs or the economic benefits, is less financially robust, does not have the support of business or unions, nor the local community, nor the airlines, nor politicians, nor the policy basis of the Airports Commission. That offers local people no respite from noise. That has only one motorway and one railway line. Which do you say yes to? You know the answer, and I am sure he does. You say yes to Heathrow obviously. How can you help? It is your support that has got this on the political agenda, and it is your support that will get it delivered. Because there is only one obstacle now to delivering Heathrow expansion a government decision. Help us to make sure it happens. Last month, the Chancellor warned against complacency on the economy, saying: Now is the time to make the long term decisions to secure our country s future the prize for us all is that Britain could become the most prosperous of all the major nations in the world in the coming generation. After the Mayoral election, after the EU referendum, the biggest issue for the Prime Minister is delivering the sustainable growth that will tackle the deficit and create that 5

6 prosperity. Only saying yes to Heathrow expansion will help him deliver that vision. Make sure he hears from you that this should be top of his list. Because in ten years time, we don t want to be still talking about this. We want to be enjoying the benefits of an expanded Heathrow skilled jobs, more exports, connecting every part of Britain to every part of the world; from Newquay to Quito, from Liverpool to Lilongwe, and Inverness to Indonesia. The Prime Minister can say yes to Heathrow expansion and we will deliver! 6