YOUR comparison of the respective strengths and weaknesses of Bournemouth and Southampton Airports (Daily Echo, September 20) shows clearly that while there is room for both, Bournemouth has a serious accessibility problem and can be frustrating to get to.

For passengers who arrive by rail to catch a flight the simple remedy is to guarantee a frequent and direct link by coach or minibus between Christchurch station and the airport, but for passengers coming by road from the north the solution to the woefully inadequate direct north-south road link between our conurbation and the national motorway network is to dualise the sector from Ringwood to the M4 at Swindon, thereby expanding the airport's catchment area to include the populations of South-East Wales, Gloucester and Oxford.

It should have dawned upon the highway planners long ago that we cannot go on as we are, as our north-south accessibility problem also restricts passenger and freight movements on ferry services to the continent via the Port of Poole, whose major rival is of course Portsmouth. Moreover the position not only affects international movements; the inadequate north-south road structure adds extra mileage and increases cost when transporting goods by road to the West Midlands and the north west.

Will the new unitary authority for our conurbation address the issue, demanding immediate action from Highways England and the Department for Transport?

JOHN PROBERT, Sherwood Avenue, Poole