The economic case for airport growth. 

By Stephen Gregory – Account Director

Whilst Heathrow’s expansion has been taking the headlines, the UK aviation sector is far broader than Britain’s busiest airport, and there is a complementary story to be told. At Cavendish, we have worked in recent years with a host of smaller airports including Farnborough, Southampton, Glasgow, and Luton. As these airports push for their own growth, a shared case should be made for why the development of regional airports is just as important for the UK economy as two miles more tarmac at Heathrow.

Cavendish has supported Farnborough Airport, one of the UK’s leading business aviation airports, engage with communities and stakeholders on two planning applications to accelerate the Airport’s growth.

The economic role of Farnborough Airport has been central to the positive narrative around expansion. Raising the profile of the 3,000 jobs the Airport supports in Rushmoor Borough and £220m in Gross Value Add to the local economy has been the foundation of our messaging, and our work has built on this with evidenced projections of the jobs and economic benefits which the growth of flights would support.

Businesses often choose to base themselves near airports, bringing hundreds of jobs with them. While this link can be hard to measure, our work with Farnborough Airport has shown the value of going straight to the source. By engaging directly with the companies who rely on the airport, we’ve enabled them to articulate – in their own words – why Farnborough’s growth matters to their continued investment in Northern Hampshire.

For Southampton Airport, the economic argument was more nuanced. With the collapse of Flybe and its fleet of small aircraft, the Airport needed a runway extension to attract new airlines – without this, there was very real doubt about the Airport’s future. Cavendish’s task was to mobilise public, business, and stakeholder support needed to offer certainty and job security to thousands of people across the Central South.

Our work with Southampton Airport delivered the first local authority level approval for a runway extension in the UK for a decade. A key strand of the case we relayed to decision-makers came from engagement with the Central South business community, securing the backing of major local companies such as Carnival, Exxon, and ABP, as well as the LEP and chambers of commerce in Hampshire and the Channel Islands.

Moreover, the Government’s move towards greater devolution brings a clear opportunity to align the growth aspirations of regional airports with this broader story of economic growth coming from Britain outside the M25. With the inaugural Hampshire mayoral election on the horizon for 2028, for instance, both Farnborough and Southampton Airports must be central to the future mayor’s understanding of the economic opportunities for the county.

The Government’s priority is to deliver strong, secure, and sustainable economic growth to the UK. Regional airports must locate themselves at the heart of the economic story of nationwide growth in order to receive the support of decision-makers from the local to the national level.