ISLE OF MAN - HEATHROW AIR SERVICES - THE FACTS
Some excitement was understandably created locally with the recent publication of the Airports Commission Report, chaired by Sir Howard Davies, which had been tasked by the UK Government to examine the various options of providing additional capacity for air services from the London and South East area. After many years’ deliberation, the Commission finally recommended the creation of an additional runway at Heathrow as its preferred option.
Of more immediate local interest, however, was its recommendation that provision should be made at Heathrow for services to and from the various regions of the British Isles to be safeguarded or reintroduced, amongst which the Isle of Man was quoted as an example. This was followed by an announcement from easyJet that they would commence services between Heathrow and the Isle of Man on completion of the new runway.
But life is rarely as easy as that, and there are, however, a number of caveats which must be considered.
Firstly, the Commission’s conclusions are recommendations only. Strong ones, maybe, but the Government are not obliged to accept its findings. Quite apart from David Cameron’s pledge of five years ago that he would never support a third runway at Heathrow -‘no if’s, no but’s, not now, not ever’ - strong opposition still exists in his party and even in his Cabinet, and supporters of the alternative Gatwick proposal remain optimistic of a reversal. Even if the recommendation is accepted, there would be a minefield of planning and other objections to overcome. It will certainly be a decade or more before the first flight operates from the new facility.
Secondly, the Commission’s recommendation that regional services should be an essential part of the expanded airport’s operations come with the assumption that these would be operated under what is known as a Public Service Obligation (PSO), which would be published by the EU in the European Gazette, and can be applied for by any European airline, all of which would have to go through an elaborate tendering process. So whilst it is encouraging to know that easyJet, Flybe, and possibly other airlines would be interested in mounting a Heathrow-Isle of Man operation, it is not in their power to announce that they will do so - there would be a great deal to go through first.
And who would make the decision? An application to fly between , say, Newcastle and Heathrow is quite clearly a matter for the British Government, with the decision probably delegated to the Civil Aviation Authority. Inverness to Heathrow may be slightly more difficult, as the Scottish Government would undoubtedly demand their own involvement. The Isle of Man to Heathrow situation is even more interesting. The concept of ‘Open Skies’ would be irrelevant. In spite of easyJet’s slightly premature announcement, no airline could simply announce that it would operate the route. If these regional services are designated as PSO routes, as the Commission has recommended - and this is the only way by which operating slots at Heathrow would be made available - then any European airline could apply to be the approved carrier on the route. But how would we feel should the successful applicant be Air Baltic, Brussels Airlines, or B&H Airlines of Bosnia-Herzegovina? However good they may be, we might not consider them the most appropriate choice for the Isle of Man’s prime route.
Most PSO designations in the past have been in respect of loss-making routes deemed to be essential to regional communities, and a suitably qualified airline submitting the lowest tender (ie asking for the lowest level of financial support) has almost invariably been successful. PSO routes have also, in the past, applied to ‘cities’ rather than to ‘airports’ - ie if the Island was already adequately served by other London Airports, as is presently the case, then under current EU regulations , no PSO would apply, so some change in these regulations would be required.
Heathrow-Isle of Man would also be a new situation in that no subsidy would presumably be required. So on what grounds would the licence to operate be awarded, and, crucially, who would make this decision? For what would be the most significant single air route to serve the Island, it would be vital that the Isle of Man had the final say, based on such commitments as flight frequencies, timings, fare structures, aircraft types, cargo capabilities, etc., so that the needs of the Island as well as those of the airline are taken fully into account.
Perhaps the most significant part of the Airports Commission’s proposal is that, should the recommended PSO designation come about, for all practical purposes the operating slots at Heathrow would presumably no longer be the property of the operating airline to use as it chooses, as at present, but would remain allocated to the route itself - a position which the Isle of Man has long advocated, and which would be a most significant change to any previous UK Government policy
TravelWatch IOM and the majority of our business community have long argued that the Island is in a weaker position than, for example, Guernsey and certain other Crown Dependencies, by choosing to have no input into the style and quality of air services operating here, even on the critical major routes - in our case, to the London airports or Manchester. If the Airports Commission recommendations are implemented, and if we are to have any sort of say in which airline, if any, will be granted permission to operate the Heathrow route, then it would be essential to have the Licensing mechanism in place, as Guernsey already have, to whom the EU could legitimately delegate the choice. TravelWatch believe this should be Government appointed, but independent of Government in the decision making process, and our proposals on the make up of such a body have been with the responsible Department for some time. It need not be cumbersome or complicated, need not be at any significant cost to the taxpayer, and would very rarely be called upon to sit, but would allow the Island to be in a position to assume responsibility on behalf of the EU to decide which carrier should operate the route , and under which broad parameters. It is too important a decision to be left to the EU or the British Government.
Whilst the implementation of the decision on a third Heathrow runway may be a decade or more away, the necessary mechanism to ensure that the Isle of Man is in a position to benefit, should we consider it desireable, will need to be in place well in advance of this.
SUMMARY
Issued by Terry Liddiard
on behalf of TravelWatch-ISLE OF MAN
27th July 2015
Of more immediate local interest, however, was its recommendation that provision should be made at Heathrow for services to and from the various regions of the British Isles to be safeguarded or reintroduced, amongst which the Isle of Man was quoted as an example. This was followed by an announcement from easyJet that they would commence services between Heathrow and the Isle of Man on completion of the new runway.
But life is rarely as easy as that, and there are, however, a number of caveats which must be considered.
Firstly, the Commission’s conclusions are recommendations only. Strong ones, maybe, but the Government are not obliged to accept its findings. Quite apart from David Cameron’s pledge of five years ago that he would never support a third runway at Heathrow -‘no if’s, no but’s, not now, not ever’ - strong opposition still exists in his party and even in his Cabinet, and supporters of the alternative Gatwick proposal remain optimistic of a reversal. Even if the recommendation is accepted, there would be a minefield of planning and other objections to overcome. It will certainly be a decade or more before the first flight operates from the new facility.
Secondly, the Commission’s recommendation that regional services should be an essential part of the expanded airport’s operations come with the assumption that these would be operated under what is known as a Public Service Obligation (PSO), which would be published by the EU in the European Gazette, and can be applied for by any European airline, all of which would have to go through an elaborate tendering process. So whilst it is encouraging to know that easyJet, Flybe, and possibly other airlines would be interested in mounting a Heathrow-Isle of Man operation, it is not in their power to announce that they will do so - there would be a great deal to go through first.
And who would make the decision? An application to fly between , say, Newcastle and Heathrow is quite clearly a matter for the British Government, with the decision probably delegated to the Civil Aviation Authority. Inverness to Heathrow may be slightly more difficult, as the Scottish Government would undoubtedly demand their own involvement. The Isle of Man to Heathrow situation is even more interesting. The concept of ‘Open Skies’ would be irrelevant. In spite of easyJet’s slightly premature announcement, no airline could simply announce that it would operate the route. If these regional services are designated as PSO routes, as the Commission has recommended - and this is the only way by which operating slots at Heathrow would be made available - then any European airline could apply to be the approved carrier on the route. But how would we feel should the successful applicant be Air Baltic, Brussels Airlines, or B&H Airlines of Bosnia-Herzegovina? However good they may be, we might not consider them the most appropriate choice for the Isle of Man’s prime route.
Most PSO designations in the past have been in respect of loss-making routes deemed to be essential to regional communities, and a suitably qualified airline submitting the lowest tender (ie asking for the lowest level of financial support) has almost invariably been successful. PSO routes have also, in the past, applied to ‘cities’ rather than to ‘airports’ - ie if the Island was already adequately served by other London Airports, as is presently the case, then under current EU regulations , no PSO would apply, so some change in these regulations would be required.
Heathrow-Isle of Man would also be a new situation in that no subsidy would presumably be required. So on what grounds would the licence to operate be awarded, and, crucially, who would make this decision? For what would be the most significant single air route to serve the Island, it would be vital that the Isle of Man had the final say, based on such commitments as flight frequencies, timings, fare structures, aircraft types, cargo capabilities, etc., so that the needs of the Island as well as those of the airline are taken fully into account.
Perhaps the most significant part of the Airports Commission’s proposal is that, should the recommended PSO designation come about, for all practical purposes the operating slots at Heathrow would presumably no longer be the property of the operating airline to use as it chooses, as at present, but would remain allocated to the route itself - a position which the Isle of Man has long advocated, and which would be a most significant change to any previous UK Government policy
TravelWatch IOM and the majority of our business community have long argued that the Island is in a weaker position than, for example, Guernsey and certain other Crown Dependencies, by choosing to have no input into the style and quality of air services operating here, even on the critical major routes - in our case, to the London airports or Manchester. If the Airports Commission recommendations are implemented, and if we are to have any sort of say in which airline, if any, will be granted permission to operate the Heathrow route, then it would be essential to have the Licensing mechanism in place, as Guernsey already have, to whom the EU could legitimately delegate the choice. TravelWatch believe this should be Government appointed, but independent of Government in the decision making process, and our proposals on the make up of such a body have been with the responsible Department for some time. It need not be cumbersome or complicated, need not be at any significant cost to the taxpayer, and would very rarely be called upon to sit, but would allow the Island to be in a position to assume responsibility on behalf of the EU to decide which carrier should operate the route , and under which broad parameters. It is too important a decision to be left to the EU or the British Government.
Whilst the implementation of the decision on a third Heathrow runway may be a decade or more away, the necessary mechanism to ensure that the Isle of Man is in a position to benefit, should we consider it desireable, will need to be in place well in advance of this.
SUMMARY
- The Airport Commission’s Report is a recommendation only, and need not necessarily be adopted, in full or in part, by the UK Government
- Even if it is accepted, it will be 10-15 years before it could be implemented, always assuming that planning approval is forthcoming
- For regional routes, such as the Isle of Man, to be accommodated at Heathrow, the Commission’s recommendations that regional routes should be operated under a Public Services Obligation would have to be accepted, and changes to PSO regulations agreed by the EU
- No airline can simply decide to operate on the route, but would have to apply, and applications by any European airline would have to be considered equally
- If the Isle of Man wished to be the decision making authority on the choice of airline, agreement would need to be reached with the UK, and an IOM Licensing Authority formed
Issued by Terry Liddiard
on behalf of TravelWatch-ISLE OF MAN
27th July 2015