BALPA General Secretary Amy Leversidge has written to Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander urging her to “future-proof” plans for Heathrow’s third runway.  

In the letter, Leversidge urged the Secretary of State to ensure that the winning bid provides sufficient additional capacity and flexibility to protect the airport against any future need for expansion.  There are currently two bids to build the third runway, with the government expected to choose between them by the end of the month. 

Leversidge highlighted the fact that increased capacity at Heathrow will mean more flights and that for the UK to gain maximum economic benefits from the expansion, training new pilots will be essential.  Currently pilot training typically costs over £100,000, with no access to grants or career development loans, meaning only a very few people can afford it. BALPA is calling for government investment in pilot apprenticeships so that anyone with the ambition and talent to do so can become a pilot. 

Leversidge also called on the government to ensure that whichever bid is chosen, the airport, which handled over 80 million passengers last year, continues to run smoothly during the construction work. 

BALPA General Secretary Amy Leversidge wrote, “The expansion at Heathrow is a once in a lifetime opportunity to futureproof an airport that is a world-leading hub, linking the United Kingdom to the world.” 

Leversidge also wrote, “I would also encourage you to assure yourself that the winning bid as far as possible provides sufficient additional capacity and flexibility to delay or even prevent any need in the decades ahead to expand the airport again.” 

Leversidge added, “Apart from those who are accepted onto a small number of funded cadet programmes, those wanting to train to become a commercial airline pilot must fund their own training, both in full and upfront. That bill is typically over £100,000…. One way to fix this and to ensure that the opportunity to train as a pilot is real and meaningful to anyone with the ambition and potential is the rejuvenation of the pilot apprenticeship.” 

BALPA – the British Airline Pilots’ Association – supports both a third runway for Heathrow, and the Government’s broader agenda of airport expansion. The benefits to the UK lie not only in economic growth but specifically in the extra jobs that expansion will deliver, including many new additional posts for pilots, air traffic controllers and engineers.