Wales TUC Response to the Welsh Assembly Government Consultation 'Intra Wales Scheduled Air Services'

Response to the Welsh Assembly Government consultation document

Intra-Wales Scheduled Air Services

Wales TUC Cymru

1 Cathedral Road

Cardiff

CF11 9SD

Tel/Ffôn: 029 2034 7010

Fax/Ffacs: 029 2022 1940

E-mail/e-bost: wtuc@tuc.org.uk

The Wales TUC welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Welsh Assembly Government consultation document "Intra-Wales Scheduled Air Services". The Wales TUC represents 56 trade unions who in turn represent around half a million members across Wales.

Introduction

The Wales TUC is convinced of the need to develop intra-Wales air services.

In our response to the Department for Transport consultation document "The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom: Wales" we made our case for a full-scale study to be held into the possibility of intra-Wales air services;

'In supporting the development of Cardiff International Airport, the Wales TUC recognises that the airport does not currently meet the needs of those living in North and West Wales.

Transport links across Wales are fine for travelling between east and west on the north and south seaboard. But the A55 and the M4 won’t help you get from north to south or vice versa and there is no convenient rail alternative. Wales TUC believes that a revamped and re-launched internal air service would be a major boost to the economic potential of many parts of Wales.

The Wales TUC believes that there is now an urgent need for a full-scale study into the demand for an internal ‘hop, skip and jump’ air service in Wales.

The study should also take account of the fact that such internal air services will act as a catalyst for future industrial development around the chosen sites. Because such developments will be aligned to the aviation industry, jobs will be of a high quality, valued-added standard. In the mid to long term, Wales could well become a centre of excellence for the aviation industry and its supply chain'.

Having made a case for their development, this response will contain itself to our preferred network options which are:

Option 2B: Cardiff, Swansea and Valley

Option 4: Similar option to 2B but includes Dublin

The Case for Valley

The Wales TUC believes that Swansea Airport is integral to any intra-Wales scheduled air service and should be placed within any provision. However, the case for which North Wales airport is preferred is open to more debate.

We believe that on balance Valley provides the best option. The consultation notes that Option 2B has the lowest operational loss for intra-Wales air services, with a further reduction if Option 4 was pursued. Whilst an option including Valley stacks up financially compared to other options, Valley has a number of other attributes.

· Valley is a large military complex that could accommodate domestic and potentially international air services with a range of aircraft upto Airbus A340-600.

· An existing building has been identified for use as a terminal as well as an area for car parking.

· The area could be converted within 18 months to two years.

· Investment is not required for fire cover.

· The use of Valley could provide a significant economic boost to the Anglesey economy. Anglesey has one of the highest unemployment rates in Wales with a GDP well below the national average.

· There is a significant opportunity to boost inward tourism in North West Wales, especially within Snowdonia.

· North Wales has a very strong aviation sector presence. Activities such as aircraft repair and maintenance, training and manufacturing in and around Anglesey could encourage an aviation related cluster to develop.

· Valley has the best transport links of the North Wales options, and is ten minutes drive from the A5 dual carriageway which runs through Anglesey. The A5 itself is a Euro-route to Ireland and is around one hour from Liverpool, making intra-Wales air services accessible to the population of North Wales and North East England.

· Wales TUC has been concerned for sometime about the economic impact to North Wales of MOD airbase rationalisation, the latest realisation of this concern being the closure of RAF Sealand. We believe that the Welsh Assembly Government has the opportunity to take a strategic economic view by facilitating the introduction of air services into Valley and thereby offsetting any potential military reduction of the site. We believe that such a decision could act as a catalyst for further development of Valley.

· Wales TUC also supports Option 4 because we believe there to be significant demand for air services to Dublin. We estimate the terminal to terminal time to be around one hour, making it extremely attractive to tourists, business travel and freight both ways.

Conclusion

Wales TUC fully supports the purpose of this consultation and notes that it fits with the earlier Department of Transport consultation on air services within the UK. We noted then the wish to see the development of intra-Wales air services.

We support Options 2b and 4 because there is much potential for the service itself, in terms of travel throughout Wales, the potential economic benefits to North Wales in general and Anglesey in particular and the opportunity to take advantage of an airport with potential to operate both intra-Wales and international air services within the context of favourable transport infrastructure surrounding it.

Wales TUC would be very happy to discuss our response in more detail with the Welsh Assembly Government if appropriate.