With aviation being such a key source of local employment I was pleased to meet with Crawley-based firms both at Gatwick Airport and for a few hours at the Farnborough Air Show last week.
I welcome easyJet’s commitment to the A321neo which has significantly lower noise and carbon emissions. This aircraft is based at Gatwick and is now operational.
The Government recently reiterated that more than £340 million is going into research and development projects and to boost productivity, ensuring that Britain remains at the forefront of the aerospace industry. In addition to developing technologically advanced aircraft, this funding will also see the creation of more efficient engines and the manufacture of cleaner and quieter planes.
I was pleased to see for myself Gatwick’s new £2 million North Terminal airline lounge style area, as part of the airport’s continued efforts to be more accessible for disabled passengers. Previously I have spoken in Parliament about their work to ensure assistance for people with hidden disabilities.
The new special assistance area is one of the largest of its kind in Europe, and with 90 seats it has more than double the capacity of the existing section.
It is certainly not lost on me that an important factor in Gatwick’s continued success is ease of access to the airport itself. Last month in the House of Commons I urged the Transport Secretary to ensure the necessary infrastructure investment at Gatwick, including in upgrading the station and rail capacity, remains a key priority.
Crawley’s aviation sector has played its part in the latest figures which show a 60 per cent fall in local unemployment compared with eight years ago; while unemployment nationwide is at its joint lowest since 1975. This is, of course, no time for complacency, which is why I welcome easyJet’s recent announcement of a new cabin crew apprenticeship scheme.
This is the first such initiative offered by an airline in the UK under new Government apprenticeship standards, and will be based in Crawley at their Gatwick training academy.
Henry Smith MP