To provide value to the membership RABA should seek to research, advise and advocate on areas of common interest for smaller airports in the UK. These should be related principally, though not exclusively, to issues where smaller airports have a distinct, different or additional interest from larger organisations. These would include:
Ensuring national and EU policy avoids a ‘one size fits all’ approach, recognising the different circumstances prevailing at smaller regional and business airports in the UK and being responsive to their needs.
Seeking to address the disproportionate and anti-competitive impact of externally imposed regulation on smaller airports so as to create a more level playing field on which they can compete.
Promoting smaller airports as attractive locations for non-passenger aeronautical and non-aeronautical activity that is less easily accommodated at larger more congested airports.
Defining land use, economic and transport policy at a local, city and regional level in such a way as to improve the long term prospects for smaller airports to become:
Commercially self-sustaining; and
Able to promote the wider benefits to be derived from the enhanced domestic and international connectivity and evolution of economic clusters associated with the development smaller airports.
Recognising the important social and community roles smaller airports already play, or could be adapted to play, given the right policy and funding support.
Securing access to appropriate investment and funding support and long-term political commitment to enable them to meet these other challenges.
Additionally, the secretariat of the group should seek to alert members to consultations, policy papers, research projects and other third party activity that could impact on, or support, the interests of smaller airports. This should include providing the membership with interpretations of the implications of such activity and the drafting of generic input and responses to be adapted and used by individual members, as well as common responses on behalf of the group as a whole.
Where appropriate and when the interests of the group would benefit, RABA should join with other industry bodies in common campaigns, while at all times seeking to make the distinctive case for the role and value of smaller airports.