Firstly, I congratulate you on your appointment to the Department for Transport - a cornerstone for our Levelling Up agenda. I want to write to you to highlight a small but highly important area of the transport sector which I believe is all too often overlooked by the government; General Aviation.
The little flying clubs and schools dotted around the UK may seem rather quaint and a ‘rich man's’ hobby, but they fulfil a major role in our aviation sector. Not only do they provide the first steps in a pilot’s flying career, but they also provide a sense of comradery among aviators, and help keep basic stick-and-rudder skills alive. Without them, the entire industry dies. Of course, if hypothetically there was no General Aviation in the UK, then our airlines would source their pilots from abroad, but that will erase our country’s place on the Flight Deck. Pilot training is already extremely restrictive on the premise that the cost of training is phenomenally high, and often outside the reach of many, putting off potentially many fantastic aviators. The industry is suffering as a result of what was a pilot shortage before the pandemic, to now being a pilot emergency. The issue of training and its expense warrants a letter all of its own, but the flying clubs are the bedrock of this, and so need a government that supports them.
However, there is more to this industry than simply providing professional pilots to the airlines. A great number of pilots don’t end up pursuing a commercial career and simply remain flying for leisure. And despite the stereotype, these pilots are not often rich, even if it is a rather expensive hobby. It on the other hand is at risk of becoming an exclusively rich club due to the ever-increasing costs and restrictions. The CAA does a sterling job at regulating the industry but seems to apply a commercial mindset to General Aviation and continuously piles on more restrictions and expenses onto operators of light aircraft. Although they have improved somewhat on this front, much more needs to be done.
Our airports are being seen as either major international hubs, or a nuisance, with the lesser airfields being gradually dissolved through development or decay. I take my local airport as a prime example. Blackpool Airport was originally bought by Balfour Betty many years ago with the aim to tear it up and develop the land into yet another giant housing estate. Thankfully, Blackpool Council put an end to that venture and insisted that there must be an airport. In the end, Balfour Betty’s business at Blackpool Airport was liquidated because of poor business decisions - after all, they do houses, not airports. Once again the airport is in the hands of the council, but its future seems uncertain. There still exist plans to dramatically scale down the footprint of the airport, with the premise of developing some of this prime real estate all too tantalising for the council. I fear one day the airport shrink some more, then more still, until through insignificance it is removed altogether as its importance to the town diminishes.
This is a re-occurring story for many airfields around our country. The interests of the several small businesses and clubs calling these airfields home, trampled on by the advances of multi-million-pound conglomerates. The best thing for General Aviation would be for the authorities to, not only shield them from ravenous developers but to change their mindset towards them. These clubs are not some dangerous issue in need of regulation, but there is an underlying culture of safety and good airmanship in General Aviation, and that by working with them, all will be better for it. If this industry is kept alive and well, then the whole sector benefits. So please I ask, that in your new role, a moment or two is given to consider those people in their ‘flying machines’.