AQW 7852/17-22

Mr John Blair
Alliance Party
South Antrim

Tabled Date: 29/09/2020
Answered On Date: 02/10/2020
Priority Written: Yes

Question:
To ask the Minister for the Economy what measures her Department is taking to ensure the sustainability of Belfast International Airport.

Answer:

As I am sure you will appreciate, as a privately owned commercial entity, responsibility for ensuring the sustainability of Belfast International Airport rests with its Board and shareholders.

To clarify, I am not responsible for the funding of airports, that work is led by the Department of Finance and the Department for Infrastructure. My responsibility is with maintaining and enhancing Northern Ireland’s air connectivity, both domestically and internationally. In doing so, I fully acknowledge that civil aviation is a reserved matter for the UK Department for Transport (DfT).

I will continue to stress to the UK Government my view, and that of previous NI Ministers, which is that short haul Air Passenger Duty (APD) is an unfair tax, which has a particularly detrimental impact on NI passengers. Hence, I have written to the UK Government requesting a deferral of short haul APD, as part of a national solution to COVID-19.

I have established and lead a Tourism Recovery Steering Group in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which includes a sub-group tasked with identifying air and sea connectivity issues and developing policy solutions. As a direct result, I have successfully secured £2m to fund co-operative marketing. This will be delivered by Tourism Ireland, as part of the Executive’s 2020-21 COVID-19 response, by March 2021.

I understand that DfT intend to publish their UK Aviation Recovery Plan in the autumn. My officials are engaged with them on their Regional Air Connectivity Review.

In May the Executive put in place measures, in respect of rate payments, to assist Northern Ireland businesses impacted by COVID-19. As a result, all three Northern Ireland airports are receiving 100% rates relief until 31 March 2021, which equates to £2.2m of support, in total.

I understand that the Department of Finance is continuing to engage with the airports and to monitor the sector as it recovers, including consideration of options for further support.

I fully recognise that air connectivity is essential to rebuilding Northern Ireland’s economy and my Department is always willing to consider any requests for support from airports/airlines that deliver value for money and are compliant with EU State Aid regulations.