Ulster Unionist peer Lord Empey has once again challenged the Government on the importance of access from Northern Ireland to the main national hub airport at Heathrow and stated that without such access, Northern Ireland would be in big economic trouble.
Yesterday in Parliament, the Secretary of State for Transport made a statement to MPs about the Government's announcement that it was delaying taking a decision on the location of a new runway in the south east of England. This statement was repeated in the House Lords where Lord Empey again took the opportunity to make his point.
Lord Empey said:
“The Minister's reply demonstrates that the Government still hasn't understood the dangers or complexities of the issue. Lord Ahmad referred to subsidies being paid to routes that fall into disuse, but that is not the issue at all. There is plenty of connectivity between Northern Ireland and the London area but the Government cannot guarantee access from Belfast to Heathrow, our main national hub airport, under existing European law. Hence my visit to Brussels earlier this month.
“A couple of weeks ago the Chancellor, George Osborne MP, said that this was a Government that fixes the roof when the sun is shining! Well, if that is true, then NOW is the time to ensure that we can have guaranteed access to Heathrow even though we currently have a satisfactory service. The first thing that the Irish Government did, when BA's parent company IAG sought to merge with Aer Lingus, was to have a legal guarantee of access from the Irish regions to Heathrow! Dublin fully gets it but London doesn't yet see the dangers.
“There is no point in waiting until something goes wrong and our connectivity is severely damaged. The Government boasts about the 'Northern Powerhouse'. Well one of the essential qualities of a 'powerhouse' must surely be that there is good access to it? Without good access to Heathrow, Northern Ireland would be in big economic trouble. Now is the time to take the steps necessary to ensure this does not happen.”