The Freight Transport Association is emphasising the importance of airport development in the South East of England. A spokesman for the organisation said:
“We believe that London, as the UK hub for freight, is exceptionally important and that this should be recognised alongside passenger traffic. The wider range of services that can be attracted by a major hub with transfer flights makes London the major freight hub for industry. It is critical for UK industry that new services are developed to emerging markets as this is where Heathrow is already falling behind competitors due to lack of capacity.”
The FTA said that it was essential that any future capacity strengthened the existing hub base of the south east of England. The additional capacity, it said, would bring benefits to the south east of England and to Britain as a whole through enhanced connectivity to the UK’s key overseas markets.
The government is set to publish its final recommendations for aviation capacity early in 2015.