Trevelyan, the former secretary of state for international trade, has taken over from Grant Shapps after being appointed to her new role by prime minister Liz Truss on Tuesday evening (6 September).
She tweeted: "I’m thrilled to have been appointed Transport Sec. Transport is crucial to our lives – bringing people together, creating jobs and connecting the UK with the world. Looking forward to getting to work on the many challenges and opportunities transport brings."
Trevelyan is set to attend Truss’s first cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, said aviation was “truly a sector where the UK can lead the world” and called on Trevelyan to support the industry meet its challenges around decarbonisation and ambitions to “create thousands of highly skilled jobs across the UK”.
“There is more still to do – from completing airspace modernisation to developing a thriving UK sustainable aviation fuel industry – but the foundation is there for the UK to be a Jet Zero pioneer,” said Alderslade.
“Delivering on this agenda will allow UK aviation and its base carriers to continue doing what they do best.”
He urged the new transport secretary to help provide “more choice and competition” for families and consumers, while enabling connectivity to link the UK and its businesses to all parts of the world.
Meanwhile, Clive Wratten, chief executive of the Business Travel Association, said his sector would play “a vital role in the productivity, levelling-up and economy of our country”.
“It encompasses domestic and international travel. It’s trains, planes and the move to electric cars. We look forward to working closely together to promote the growth of UK businesses and furthering our net-zero ambitions,” said Wratten.
“As the Cabinet meets for the first time, we urge ministers to acknowledge the contribution of business travel in helping with the major concerns of our times."
