Aviation Club lunch
Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for a warm welcome to the Aviation Club.
It's a pleasure to be here today to address such an influential and important gathering of your members, and to meet so many of you personally, for the first time as Secretary of State for Transport.
Seven days ago I was honoured to accept the Prime Minister's offer of this role in the new government.
But just 48 hours later, I was given a stark reminder of how aviation remains an enduring target for terrorists, as the events in London and Glasgow unfolded.
Today, I want to begin by thanking all of you, and the thousands of others in the industry, especially the frontline staff who worked so hard last weekend as the peak holiday season got underway.
You kept passengers flying in extremely challenging circumstances.
And, like the Home Secretary, I want to thank the British public, including those at airports over the weekend, both for their vigilance, patience and forebearance in dealing with these security issues.
The terrorists have only succeeded in uniting the country against them and that's something of which we can all be very proud.
I want to keep my remarks today brief, but I would like to address three of the key challenges that aviation faces in the future.
First - we must continue to work together to address the real and ongoing threat to the industry from global terrorism.
Second - I would like to acknowledge the enormous contribution a robust and competitive air transport sector makes to the British economy; And thirdly. I want to talk about how we can build on that economic success while ensuring we meet our environmental objectives.
The events of last weekend have shown, once again, that aviation remains an iconic target for international terrorists. And this threat will persist.
That means heightened security measures at airports since last year remain necessary and are likely to be so for the foreseeable future.
This experience also shows that the significant investment some airports have made in infrastructure protection is well targeted - and I would urge you to continue to implement improvements where vulnerabilities have been identified.
We know that tight security can be burdensome. But we also know that the threats against us will change as new technology emerges. We must respond accordingly - and that is why considerable work is in hand to develop new technology which we hope will enable more effective security and the quicker processing of passengers.
But there is a more fundamental issue for aviation and that is how to integrate security properly, so that it is no longer seen as an inconvenient and expensive add on.
Together, we need to find a better, more integrated approach that puts security at the heart of a better experience for the passenger.
In the meantime, I am only too aware that as the main summer holiday season approaches, and more people get ready to go abroad for the first time since the new measures came into force last August, the industry will need to be ready.
In Government, we will do what we can, particularly in explaining to the travelling public why these measures are necessary.
But it is vital that the industry as a whole pulls together to make the operational changes necessary to minimise the impact on passengers.
In the end, it is down to airports in particular to deploy their resources effectively to ensure their customers - airlines and passengers - get the service they deserve.
As a first step, later this month my Department will host a security summit, bringing together key players across the industry. Our discussions will focus on managing, in a co ordinated way, the higher volumes of passengers over the summer and also consider some of the issues I have talked about here today.
We will back this up with advertising and a marketing campaign aimed at passengers, reminding them to "arrive prepared" when they use airports this summer. They will need to be aware that restrictions are still in place at UK airports and a growing number across the world.
The key to keeping our airports moving in the coming weeks and months is to prepare passengers on what to expect, and to keep them informed as they travel. And it is in all our interests to get this right. Not least because of the tremendous importance of the industry to our economy.
And this brings me to my second point. The aviation industry supports over 200,000 direct jobs, and gives this country the global connectivity it needs to cement our place at the heart of a global economy.
I want to ensure that key role is maintained, and that our global competitiveness is not undermined. But that will require a proactive approach to two things provision of additional airport capacity and the liberalisation of air services.
On the first point, we have a progressive, responsible strategy for increasing capacity over the next decade that was set out in the Future of Air Transport White Paper - and we will continue to work with the industry as they deliver this.
And, secondly, we will continue to press forward with liberalising air transport markets, sweeping away the outdated restrictions on routes, schedules and fares which still hold back the development of our links with key economies - for example in Africa and Asia.
I also want to make progress in allowing airlines - some of the most global and capital intensive businesses in the world - to act like any other international enterprise. Freeing them from the ownership and control restrictions which prevent them from accessing global capital markets. Key to that will be making further progress with the United States.
I can assure you that the Government, with our European counterparts, will be strongly pressing the case for further liberalisation in Washington. But that is something where we need your help, too.
Through your own contacts, and your alliance partners, I hope you will support our efforts in explaining why it is neither in America's - nor Europe's - interests that these restrictions continue.
But growth must be sustainable and responsible, so aviation starts to become part of the solution to the transport challenges of the 21st century, rather than merely seen as part of the growing problem of carbon emissions.
And this brings me to my third and final point today. The sustainable growth of the industry.
I welcome the progress that’s being made in many areas: the development of cleaner, quieter aircraft; aviation companies investing in carbon offsetting, and; airports improving local air quality. And I look forward to working with you to build on this progress.
But I'm also aware that we need co-ordinated action internationally if we're to make real progress on key challenges like climate change.
And so I will ensure that Britain continues to play a leading role in negotiations to reduce aviation's environmental impact on a global level in particular, to include transport in an EU emissions trading scheme.
I know that many of you here share that objective - and I thank you for your sense of environmental responsibility. But there are many worldwide who don't.
It's in all of our interests that we make the case, and convince others of the need to see the environment as a core aviation issue - not simply an optional add on.
It is our challenge - to build a sustainable foundation for aviation that will support success for decades to come.
A robust, profitable industry, supporting a strong British economy.
An innovative industry that sees the environmental challenge as an opportunity, not a problem.
And an industry that continues to set the standards for transport security and customer service.
These should be our shared priorities – and, as Secretary of State, I will be committed to working with you to achieve them in the months and years ahead.
Thank you.
Delivered: 05 July 2007
(This speech represented existing departmental policy but the words may not have been the same as those used by the Minister.)
