The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has called on the government to improve the UK’s flight connections, or risk being left behind by France, Germany and Holland when it comes to doing business with high-growth markets.

According to recent research commissioned by the BCC and Heathrow Airport, 90% of business leaders in Brazil, China, India, South Korea, and Mexico say direct flights influence their inward investment decisions; while eight in ten (80%) say they would trade more with the UK if flight connections were improved to their home markets.

The BCC says that the UK’s aviation connectivity crunch already means that airlines are prevented from developing new routes from the UK’s global hub to emerging market destinations such as Manila, Guangzhou, Mexico City and Jakarta.

Meanwhile, Paris and Frankfurt already have 1,000 more flights each year to the three biggest Chinese cities than London, and almost double the number of flights from Heathrow.

Commenting on the results of the survey, John Longworth, director general of the BCC, said: “There is an aviation-shaped hole in the government’s growth strategy. While businesses very much welcome ambitious infrastructure projects like high-speed rail, they can’t catch a train to China or Brazil.

"The UK will miss out on investment and jobs if the government does not act now to improve capacity at our airports, strengthen links between regional airports, and develop more connections to emerging markets. Growth cannot wait. While Britain dithers, our international competitors are forging ahead.”

"Encouraging more trade between UK firms and overseas markets is crucial to the rebalancing of our economy. But while firms are being urged to trade with new partners in emerging markets, they are hindered by the lack of connections to these countries - in turn hurting both inward investment and Britain’s export potential."

Colin Matthews, chief executive of BAA, added: “The view from business leaders in emerging markets is alarming.  If anyone doubted that Heathrow’s capacity crunch is harming UK growth then here is the evidence:  business leaders in the world’s fastest growing economies say they are being put off from investing in the UK because of a lack of direct flights. Capacity constraints are damaging the UK economy today when the country can least afford it.

"A new hub airport has been proposed in the South East, but this has a projected cost of £50 billion and may take decades to build. In the intervening period we would be handing over on a plate the UK's historic trade advantages to our European competitors."