By Guy Taylor
“Useless” politicians must “stay out of the f***ing transport sector”, Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary has said.
In an interview, the low-cost carrier’s outspoken boss told City A.M.: “They’re useless at it. Politicians are useless at it.”
His comments came after high-profile issues hit a number of major transport and infrastructure projects in the UK last year, while airlines are still reeling from last summer’s major air traffic control outage at the National Air Traffic Service (NATs), in which the government holds a 49 per cent stake.
Cumbersome planning hurdles and cost pressures caused by inflation have proved a toxic combination for major infrastructure projects in the UK in recent years.
“You look at HS2, another shambolic waste,” he said, referring to Rishi Sunak’s decision to axe the Northern leg of the route in October amid ballooning costs. It was also recently revealed that the planning application for the £10bn Lower Thames Crossing project near Dartford has reached a staggering 359,000 pages, sparking calls from campaigners for reform.
In aviation, major airports have faced setbacks and planning delays in pushing forward with plans to expand.
Heathrow has struggled for years to get its third runway proposals over the line and the project now sits at a crossroads ahead of this year’s general election.London City Airport is currently appealing a decision by Newham Council to block its plans to expand passenger capacity from 5m to 9m and lengthen flying hours.
Gatwick, Stansted and Luton have all either got the go-ahead for expansion or are in the process of submitting plans. “You know, the airports were privatized, they’re privately run and if Gatwick or Stansted want to build another runway, they should be encouraged to do so,” he told City A.M.
“The government needs to free up the planning restrictions over here in the UK. I mean, the ridiculous length of time it takes to get any infrastructure built here is a shambles and if Rishi Sunak was to do something like stop wittering on about drip down pricing, well, that’s not the issue, fix the planning system over here, particularly for big infrastructure projects.”
“Yes, nobody wants it in their backyard. But ultimately, as a society, government has to make those hard decisions.”
A government spokesperson said: “Airport growth has a key role to play in boosting our global connectivity and growing our economy, and we continue to be supportive of sustainable airport expansion.
“While expansions are led by the private sector, our Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project Reform Action plan will help make the consenting process better, greener, faster, fairer and more resilient.”
