Question
Regional airports, such as Exeter airport, should be engines of economic growth. However, one often sees that airport services gravitate towards larger regional airports. Will the Minister give further information on how he is seeking to ensure that more peripheral airports, such as Exeter, are strongly supported to be the engines for economic change that they could be?
Answer
We need to ensure that regional airports like Exeter and Newquay have the connectivity into larger airports that they need. Through our consultation on the Heathrow expansion national policy statement, we were dedicated and focused on how to increase that connectivity via either public service obligation connections or routes into the airport through a regional fund to better facilitate those connections. More broadly, whether it be through airspace modernisations to facilitate better connectivity or by ensuring that regional airports are better protected against fluctuations in the price of jet fuel, the Government are committed to taking comprehensive action to support the sector, recognising that it can serve as a catalyst both for economic growth and for the economic connectivity for the hon. Gentleman’s constituents that he rightly points to.50% vibes
Verdict: GREEN (78/100)
The reply directly answers the question about how the Government supports peripheral airports, naming specific measures: public service obligation connections, a regional fund, airspace modernisation, and protection against jet fuel price swings. It links these to economic growth, though its focus is mainly on connections to larger airports rather than the wider economic role of these airports. Because the question has only one part and the measures are concrete, the asker would likely have enough information to move on.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the Government is doing to ensure that more peripheral regional airports, such as Exeter, are strongly supported to act as engines of economic growth. | Addressed | Direct | The reply names concrete support mechanisms: public service obligation connections and a regional fund (statement 2), airspace modernisation (statement 3), and protection against jet fuel price fluctuations (statement 4), which together answer what the Government is doing to support peripheral airports. Statement 6 ties this to economic growth, matching the item's framing, though the emphasis on connectivity to larger airports is somewhat narrower than 'engines of economic growth'. |