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Q & A with Stansted Managing Director Terry Morgan

With passenger numbers at record levels and with plans for growth and development at the top of our business agenda, Terry Morgan looks ahead to the future challenges at Stansted and explains why corporate responsibility is at the heart of all airport activity. 
 
What is corporate responsibility?

At Stansted, we see corporate responsibility as an integral part of our day to day operations.  It is about running the airport with openness and integrity to deliver our plans for growth and ensuring that we do this in a sustainable way.

We face many challenges in the aviation industry and I recognise the social and environmental impacts that we have. However, this challenge is a tremendous opportunity for us all at Stansted, to continue to deliver the substantial economic and social benefits that we see everyday and take a lead on minimising the impacts.

Why is corporate responsibility so important to BAA in general and to Stansted in particular?

Due to the size of our operations in the UK and within the industry, corporate responsibility is at the heart of what BAA does and how we manage our approach to business. This means running our operations in a safe and secure way; it means  valuing all our staff; it means delivering excellent service to passengers and in particular, it means being a good and responsible neighbour to the communities that we serve.

It is vital that we continue to operate in a way that builds on the many positives of our industry.  We have to focus on the responsible growth of aviation, maximising the benefits, whilst ensuring that we manage the negative effects.

At Stansted we have exciting plans for growth to ensure that we can meet the demands of our passengers in the years ahead. More people want to fly to more destinations, more often than ever before, and the budget airline industry has brought affordable leisure and business travel within the reach of millions of people. It means family and friends are within easier reach; new business opportunities are there to grasp; the growth in tourism is achievable and the opportunity to experience some of the wonderful countries and cultures in the world are now on our doorstep.

Meeting this demand involves two aspects – making best use of our existing single runway beyond the current limit of 25 million passengers a year and we also plan to seek permission to develop a second runway. This growth will attract investment into London and the East of England and will help to keep the UK competitive in the global economy.

 But we recognise that growth cannot come at any price. Our approach to corporate responsibility will help to ensure that this growth is economically necessary, and is also socially and environmentally responsible.

What do you think you are good at?

I am really proud of the fact that we have become the first BAA airport to achieve certification to the ISO14001 Environmental Management Standard.

This internationally recognised standard required Stansted to demonstrate strict management practices and commitment to improve environmental performance. Four independent audits were carried out by ERM CVS over a 14-month period before certification was awarded.

A huge amount of effort goes into maintaining the biodiversity of the airport site and its surroundings. You could stand just 100 metres from the boundary of the site and not realise that you were next to a major international airport. 

We are good at managing  noise issues – an area of our operations that is hugely important to local people and to us. Noise is one of the major impacts that we have to manage in the community.  Over the years we have continued to improve our relations with our neighbours in the community and work with them to help increase their understanding of the lengths that we – and the wider industry – go to, to minimise noise impacts.

We also work really hard at encouraging our staff and passengers to travel to the airport in a sustainable way. Our airport travel plan encourages all airport employees to switch to public transport or car-share and I am proud too  that 39% of staff and passengers arrive at the airport on public transport. This is the third highest figure for any European airport and something I am keen for us to improve on.

How does Stansted’s corporate responsibility performance compare with other airports?

Our people throughout the BAA group share expertise and best practice on environmental, community and economic activities. For example, by building on our collective experience we have been able to develop an accredited Airport Skills Programme over the last five years in partnership with Harlow College. This has produced a pre-employment training programme for potential job seekers. Heathrow has now launched a similar project in 2005 through its Retail Skills Academy.

All airports face many issues around managing growth responsibly. We have placed this at the top of our agenda and through our surface transport and employment strategies, I believe that we are well placed to lead on these issues in the future.

What are the main business challenges facing Stansted?

We face many challenges and opportunities to grow our business at Stansted. From a commercial viewpoint we want to broaden the mix of airlines using the airport and to attract new international carriers and routes.

This process is well underway with the launch of two new American  airlines this year with routes to New York and Washington – and the prospect of more long-haul routes arriving soon.

In the year ahead, the proposed development of Stansted will be central to the ambitions of the East of England region. We will continue to engage with the local and regional community on our plans to make full use of our existing runway and on the proposal for a second runway..

At Stansted we will continue to focus on being a good neighbour, facing the environmental challenges and being fair and honest in all that we do, I stick to the promise I gave last year about us listening to every point of view responding positively to reflect those views where we can and if we cannot, to always explain why. That is the basis for a trusting working relationship with the local community.