UK regional air connectivity fund – which airports does it help? And what is a ‘region’ anyway?

In his 2014 Budget the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer delivered a couple of surprises for the air transport industry. Firstly and in the face of global criticism of his previous policies, he adjusted rates of Air Passenger Duty (APD), lowering them for long haul journeys and also changing the banding structure in favour of some countries that had previously been penalised.

But the Chancellor also invoked a previously little known regional air route development fund, saying he would expand it to GBP20 million to "provide start-up support for new routes from regional airports to increase connectivity and boost local economies."

The shortcoming with this ad hoc policy is the airports involved are only those with less than three million passengers a year. It is hard to see what significant impact such a policy would have, even if it might save one or two from closure.