George Best Belfast City Airport Survey Report 2014 - Federation of Small Businesses Website: www.fsb.org.uk
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George Best Belfast City Airport Survey Report 2014 Federation of Small Businesses Website: www.fsb.org.uk
Foreword
As one of the two main airports in
Northern Ireland, George Best Belfast
City Airport has a key role to play for
almost all of the 7,000 members of the
Federation of Small Businesses here.
Our members frequently tell us in surveys of
the importance of good transport and
infrastructure links.
We are pleased to publish this report which shows what small businesses think
about the operation of the airport, including the limits which are currently in place
Small businesses account for 99% of all businesses in the private sector in Northern
Ireland and, for that reason, it is important that their voice is heard on issues like air
connectivity, which is closely linked with economic growth.
At FSB Northern Ireland, our aim is to lobby decision makers to create a better
business environment and we trust our survey findings outlined in this report will
contribute to that process.
Wilfred Mitchell OBE
Chair, FSB NI Policy Unit
3Introduction
Air connectivity is vital for Northern Ireland. It drives economic growth by making it
easier to do business with other countries and also encourages visitors to come
here, providing a boost to the tourism and hospitality sectors.
The peripheral geographic location of Northern Ireland from the rest of the United
Kingdom makes it all the more important to ensure air links are constantly reviewed
and improved.
With this in mind, the Federation of Small Businesses in Northern Ireland (FSB NI)
carried out a snap survey of our membership to establish views on the operation of
George Best Belfast City Airport, including the ‘Seats for Sale’ limitation which is
currently in place.
George Best Belfast City Airport first opened as a commercial airport in 1938 and
was launched as the Harbour Airport for commercial traffic in 1983. It is currently
serviced by four airlines (Aer Lingus, British Airways, Citywing and Flybe) operating
across 23 destinations.
The airport has an ambition for its carriers to fly to more European cities.
Methodology
FSB NI developed a snap survey for dissemination among our membership to assist
us in gaining a broader knowledge of air connectivity at George Best Belfast City
Airport, including the restrictions to which they are subject.
We issued the survey, containing ten questions, via email on 16th May, 21st May and
28th May as well as broadcasting on social media throughout this period. The survey
was closed on 3rd June with 103 responses received.
Summary of respondents
The respondents to the survey were predominantly micro businesses, employing
between 0 and 9 people (42). These were closely followed by self-employed
business people (31) and then those with 10-49 employees (24). Six businesses with
over 50 employees responded.
54% of businesses taking the survey use George Best Belfast City Airport several
times per year with 17% using the airport monthly and 16% weekly. The remaining
13% use the airport once a year or less.
4Importance of air connectivity and impact of George
Best Belfast City Airport
As stated above, good air links are essential for Northern Ireland, and this was
backed up by the survey where 96% indicated that they ‘strongly agreed’ or ‘agreed’
that air connectivity encourages inward investment and facilitates export growth.
There was also similar agreement among respondents that George Best Belfast City
Airport has a ‘very positive’ or ‘largely positive’ impact on the local economy with
93% adopting one of these two views. One business thought the airport had a
negative effect on the economy with six businesses of the view that the airport had a
‘neutral’ impact.
What’s important for small businesses?
As part of the survey we asked small businesses which of four issues were the most
important for their business;
x 46% said that having more destinations/routes was the most pressing issue.
x 28% said more competition between airlines was most important for their
business.
x 12% said that improvement of road, rail and bus transport links to the airport
was a priority.
x 12% said that more car parking closer to the airport was their first preference.
x 2% said that provision of conference and meetings rooms was the most
important issue for them.
Other specific areas of concern which were highlighted include the high cost of
parking as well as lack of private competition and the negative impact of Air
Passenger Duty on the cost of flying from Belfast.
Limits on George Best Belfast City Airport
George Best Belfast City Airport is subject to a number of limits, including strict
operating hours for scheduled operations between 06.30hrs and 21.30hrs; a limit of
48,000 flights arriving and departing each year; a bias of flights over Belfast Lough to
protect residential amenity; and a limit on annual seats offered for sale of 2,000,000
departing seats.
5In order to ascertain the level of knowledge which businesses had of these
restrictions, we asked if they were aware of them before taking the survey. The
majority (84%) knew of the strict operating hours but there was mixed awareness of
the others. 38% knew of the limits on the number of flights and 41% were aware of
the bias over Belfast Lough.
George Best Belfast City Airport has requested that the 'Seats for Sale' restriction is
removed. The Airport believes lifting this restriction would help it realise its ambition
to offer Northern Ireland's passengers and businesses more routes to European
destinations; create up to 270 new jobs, and directly and indirectly benefit economic
growth in the region.
With reference to the ‘Seats for Sale’ limitation, a reasonably high proportion of
respondents (69%) were not aware that this was in place.
We then asked that, if all other restrictions were to remain in place (e.g. limits on
operating hours, 48,000 flight cap and a continued bias over the Lough), would
respondents be supportive of removing the ‘Seats for Sale’ restriction. The number
of businesses who were ‘very supportive’ or ‘fairly supportive’ stood at 86%. Four
businesses were ‘fairly unsupportive’ with a further two businesses ‘very
unsupportive’. Eight indicated that they were neither ‘supportive nor unsupportive’.
Conclusion
The survey results show a high recognition of the importance of air connectivity for
both inward investment and export growth as well as the positive economic impact of
George Best Belfast City Airport.
They also point to the fact that small businesses see the provision of more
destinations and routes, alongside increased competition between airlines, as the
two most important issues for them.
The survey also illustrates a significant body of support amongst the small business
community for the removal of the ‘Seats for Sale’ restriction at George Best Belfast
City Airport if all other restrictions were to remain in place, with more than four out of
five small businesses supportive of this move.
6Notes
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7FSB Northern Ireland
Federation of Small Businesses
FSB Northern Ireland
Press and Parliamentary Office
Cathedral Chambers
143 Royal Avenue
Belfast
BT1 1FH
Tel: 02890 326 035
Email: info.nireland@fsb.org.uk
Head of External Affairs
Roger Pollen
roger.pollen@fsb.org.uk
Press and Parliamentary Officer
Grace Peacock
grace.peacock@fsb.org.uk
Policy
Carolyn Brown
carolyn.brown@fsb.org.uk
John Fullerton
MRKQIXOOHUWRQ@fsb.org.uk
© Federation of Small Businesses
www.fsb.org.uk/ni
customerservices@fsb.org.uk
If you require this document in an alternative format please email: accessability@fsb.org.uk
federationofsmallbusinesses @fsb_ni
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without prior permission of the FSB. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the facts and data contained in this publication, no responsibility can be accepted
by the FSB for errors or omissions or their consequences. Articles that appear in the report are written in general terms only. They are not intended to be a comprehensive statement of the
issues raised and should not be relied upon for any specific purposes. Readers should seek appropriate professional advice regarding the application to their specific circumstances of the
issues raised in any article.
This report can be downloaded from the FSB website at http://www.fsb.org.uk/documents
Printed on recycled paper. Published May 2014.You can also read
