NEWQUAY Airport is a critical part of our local economy in Cornwall.

There is less long-term growth for local economy without resilient, swift transportation links, and, until we get truly high-speed rail on the Paddington to Penzance mainline, a London air route is non-negotiable requirement. Regardless of Cornwall Council’s recent decision, the inescapable reality is that they must be ready to invest in the long-term development of London routes, one way or another.

I have always been clear - through my advocacy for Cornwall to be offered a Public Service Obligation (PSO) deal - that we must recognise that commercially viable route development does not happen overnight, nor without cost. Still, any PSO deal that would have been struck would have delivered substantially higher income per passenger and, in effect, recouped much of the subsidy the Council would have provided. The Council should have been clear about the strategy for reducing that subsidy over time, treating the PSO as a stepping stone to fully commercial operations, rather than an end in itself.

What concerns me is that it is not clear what financial assessment was undertaken to justify rejecting the subsidy, or how any required subsidy might be reduced to near-zero. The conversations at the Council and in the media reporting leading up to the decision felt superficial: there are strong arguments on both sides, but the public is owed an honest, evidence based conversation about the investment required to develop the route, the economic return that would flow to the airport itself, the benefits to the wider Cornish economy, and the likely total positive knock-on effect on Council revenues through increased local activity.

Equally, residents deserve clarity on what form of investment the Council is prepared to make to attract new commercial routes and airline partners. I understand work on route development is now under way, but that is work which should have begun many months ago. Since the new administration took office, I have been urging the Council to escalate planning and to pursue business opportunities on the landside as well as airside. I have been having those conversations myself but, ultimately, the airport is not actually my jurisdiction and I am not the one able to sign on the dotted line. There is little time to lose: local staff jobs are on the line, and the airport’s future depends on turning warm words with potential partners into sustainable revenue.

If we are serious about economic recovery and opportunity, the Council must be transparent about the costs, the timeline and the expected returns of any intervention. That means publishing the financial modelling, setting out a clear plan to reduce subsidy over time, and showing how investment will be targeted to create routes that airlines will operate commercially. Newquay Airport needs honest investment, and the public deserve transparency.

We can treat the airport as a recurring political issue, or we can treat it as the strategic asset it is and invest intelligently to secure long-term, private sector led growth. I know which option I prefer.