The UK and China have agreed to increase the number flights allowed to fly to and from the UK to China. They will be allowed to more than double the number of flights from UK airports, going from 80 to over 200 flights per week.
They will also be allowed to land at more airports in China, thus further strengthening their future global network. This is good news for the UK, as they want to show after Brexit they are stronger and more committed than ever to becoming a global force.
With restrictions eased on other destinations in China, trade and commerce will be able to happen on a larger scale, which in turn forces the UK to sort out the runway situation. Heathrow Airport is the biggest in the UK but it is already nearly at capacity, and couldn’t handle any sort of increases of that magnitude. Gatwick isn’t, but as the new agreements are more abut the new access the UK has, it doesn’t really matter, where the airport is. The more urgent question is with this unprecedented access, the UK is going to have to get up to speed in order to accommodate.
With the limits eased on China, it is up to Britain to continue to demonstrate their confident global selves with the increased access to further trade and tourism with the Asian market. Although there is now more access, it remains to be seen whether or not airlines will take advantage of the unprecedented access. The hope remains that they will, especially if demand starts to increase for more access.