Bosses at Liverpool John Lennon Airport welcome the latest draft National Policy Statement which says Heathrow must offer an extra six slots for UK regional airports. Tony McDonough reports.

Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) has welcomed the latest report from the Government on the proposed third runway at Heathrow Airport.

The draft National Policy Statement published for consultation makes clear that the third runway must offer designated slots for routes to regional airports such as Liverpool.

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LJLA has been a supporter of Heathrow’s plans for a third runway for some time, recognising their expansion plans as the best proposal for both the UK regions and the Country as a whole.

The Secretary of State for Transport says the Government expects Heathrow to add six more domestic routes across the UK by 2030, bringing the total to 14.

Heathrow has already pledged to offer £10m to support regional air links.

Liverpool needs to access global connectivity to better meet the needs of the region it serves, however capacity constraints in the South East have meant that the opportunity to re-establish regular flights to the UK’s hub airport has simply not existed for some time.

Andrew Cornish, chief executive of LJLA said: “The Government has clearly set out that it will hold Heathrow Airport to account on securing a number of new domestic routes to regions currently underserved including Liverpool.

“We have been a long-time supporter of Heathrow’s plans for a third runway and will respond to the Government’s consultation supporting the need to secure these new domestic links.”