Aviation Minister Mike Kane to be the keynote speaker at ‘ABTA Travel Matters’

Mike Kane MP, Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Security, Department for Transport, will be giving the keynote speech at ABTA’s Travel Matters, to be held in central London on Tuesday 3 December 2024.

Travel Matters, a must-attend annual event in the public affairs calendar, was rescheduled from earlier this year following the announcement of the General Election and is an opportunity for industry leaders to meet with, learn from and question senior policy makers.

This year, Travel Matters is themed “Travel in Turbulent Times” and will be moderated by LBC’s presenter Tom Swarbrick. Minister Kane will be followed by Hazel McGuire, General Manager UK & Ireland at Intrepid, who will set out what needs to be done to support the industry in moving towards decarbonisation. Sonia Sodha, Chief Leader Writer and Columnist for The Observer, will share her opinions on the changes that a new government could bring both in the UK and globally.

Tom Swarbrick will then chair a panel discussion exploring travel’s priorities for the next government, including how the travel industry can make sure it is heard by new ministers.  The panel will be made up of; ABTA’s Director of Public Affairs, Luke Petherbridge; Christine Quigley, Vice President at Crestview Strategy; Nathan Stower, Head of Public Policy UK & Ireland at TUI; and Rob Griggs, Policy and Public Affairs Director at Airlines UK.

Luke Petherbridge, ABTA Director of Public Affairs, said: “We are delighted that Aviation Minister, Mike Kane, has agreed to address our annual Travel Matters event. The conference is our annual policy set-piece and it’s important we hear from the people responsible for representing our sector in government.

“With the new government only a few months into office, this will be a fantastic opportunity for the industry to hear Labour’s thoughts on the challenges facing the industry today, and their plans to help the UK’s aviation and travel sector compete into the future.

“We look forward to hearing from him on the day, along with a number of other distinguished, expert speakers.”