Gatwick airport is one of the biggest and most successful in the world, handling more than 20 million passengers each year.

But the events of September 11 have severely depressed business, leading to a loss of jobs and the cancellation of services.

Just when things were showing signs of recovery, there has been another terrible air accident in New York with more than 260 dead.

Gatwick is by far the biggest employer in Sussex.

Luckily, its main catchment area is among the most prosperous in the country. It should be possible for most people made redundant to find other jobs in a district with little unemployment.

There are also plenty of other firms in and around Crawley which do not rely at all on the airline industry.

The area around Gatwick should survive a temporary economic blip. But there will be problems should it become permanent.

That will be one of the issues to be addressed at a seminar being organised by Sussex Enterprise.

It is mainly a matter of confidence. Air travel is statistically one of the safest forms of transport. What the industry needs to do is to convince the punters of that.

Even if Americans stay away for some time, there should still be plenty of trade to and from Europe, where there have been no accidents at all.

There are also plenty of airlines ready and willing to take transatlantic slots vacated by major carriers.