News

Government names chairman of airline insolvency review

The head of independent insolvency review set up by government after the collapse of Monarch has been named.

Peter Bucks has been appointed chair of the review which is expected to produce final report by the end of the year.

He has a background in banking and finance as well as economic regulation.

The review will assess consumer protection in the event of an airline or travel company failure.

The collapse of Monarch in October led the government to launch the UK’s biggest peacetime repatriation, flying home more than 85,000 holidaymakers from overseas at a cost of £60 million.

Bucks was senior financial adviser at energy regulator Ofgem and has held non-executive director positions at the Office of Rail Regulation and the Water Services Regulation Authority.

He is an independent non-executive director of Market Operator Services Limited, which supports the non-household water market, and was non-executive chairman of Open Water Markets Limited.

Announcing the appointment of Bucks, transport secretary Chris Grayling said: “I welcome the regulatory and finance experience he’ll bring to aviation.

“The review I’ve asked him to carry out will help us explore options for a new framework to deal with the failure of airlines and travel companies so that airlines can be wound down in an orderly fashion, and passengers repatriated or refunded with minimal or no government intervention.”

Grayling, speaking at the annual dinner of trade body Airlines UK in London on Wednesday, said: “I’d also like to thank everyone across the industry who helped bring back Monarch passengers who could otherwise have been stranded abroad.

“It was a massive effort, with government working alongside airlines and airports to deal with a complex and difficult logistical challenge.”

Grayling re-emphasised the need to support plans for a third runway at Heathrow, with a vote in Parliament on track for the first half of the year.

“But I’ve been clear that landing charges should be kept as close as possible to current levels,” he said.

“Heathrow charges have increased substantially over the past decade. So that needs to be factored in to future plans.”

He described a new north-west runway at Heathrow as delivering the “greatest benefits soonest” compared to all other proposals.

“After consulting on new evidence last autumn, updated forecasts showed that passenger numbers are growing much faster than we predicted even a few years ago,” Grayling said.

“Specifically, the new evidence reinforced the case for expansion at Heathrow supported by a world-class package of measures to limit the effects on local communities.”

He added: “I expect airlines and Heathrow to reach a deal on landing charges that will keep the airport competitive so extra costs are not ultimately passed on to the customer.

“However, I also want to stress that now is not the time to undermine the scheme in any way.

“Until the Parliamentary process is complete and the vote in Parliament has been delivered, we need the whole aviation industry to support the new runway.

“With such manifest benefits for airlines, other UK airports, and the wider economy, we need to keep focused on the prize to come and work together as an industry to deliver the right expansion programme at the right price.”

Addressing industry concerns over the impact of Brexit on flights between the UK and the EU, Grayling said: “Brexit remains at the top of the government’s agenda for 2018 and securing a good deal for UK airlines, with the best possible access to European markets, remains one of my biggest Brexit objectives.

“No other transport sector will have such a key role to play when we leave the European Union.

“I remain confident that we’ll get a good deal, and that UK airlines and airports will continue to flourish.

“This confidence comes from knowing that it’s in the interests of all European countries and everyone who travels between them that we seek an open, liberal arrangement for aviation following Brexit.

“And looking beyond Brexit, we have to make sure we capitalise on our new position in the world.

“So we will continue to work with other countries to expand our aviation connections.

“And through the aviation strategy, we will also look at how the UK can open up more long haul routes to markets like China, India and South America.”

Share article

View Comments

Jacobs Media is honoured to be the recipient of the 2020 Queen's Award for Enterprise.

The highest official awards for UK businesses since being established by royal warrant in 1965. Read more.