Airlines UK (the trade body for UK airlines), with support from Heathrow Airport Limited, Manchester Airports Group and the Freight Transport Association, commissioned Steer to undertake this study ahead of the Government’s Aviation Strategy Green Paper, which was published in December 2018.
The Government was consulting stakeholders to identify and reduce barriers to growth within the avaition industry. While many important industries make significant use of air freight, there remained limited understanding of its role within the UK economy.
How we helped
The purpose of the study was to assess and quantify the value of the air freight industry to the UK economy. Steer produced a fact-based report, which provided an overview of the industry structure, analysis of the different air freight markets and a description of UK air freight’s role in international trade.
The study also included a piece of economic analysis, the purpose of which was to quantify the employment and gross value added (GVA) impacts of air freight to the UK economy. Steer produced some bespoke analysis, which combined input-output analysis with HMRC UK export data, to quantify the economic impacts across the UK, as well as at a regional and industry level.
Successes and outcomes
The findings of the study were presented by Steer to industry stakeholders at the House of Commons and were reported widely within the industry press.
The report also formed part of Airlines UK’s response to the UK Government’s consultation on its Aviation Strategy.
The report is available on the Airlines UK website.