The debate over the future of the UK’s airport capacity is still raging on, with everyone in the country seemingly having an opinion on the issue. However, with a number of arguments for and against the key suggestions in the argument, this could well be a debate that continues for some time yet.
Now Global Infrastructure Partners, the owners of Gatwick Airport, have thrown yet another idea in to the mix. They believe that a second runway at the site, which lies to the south of London, is the ideal solution to the city’s lack of capacity.
The expansion, if it goes ahead, will largely be funded by private sector investment, which makes it the most economically sound proposal to date. When compared to Mayor Boris Johnson’s option of choice, a brand new hub airport constructed on an artificial island in the Thames Estuary expected to cost around £50 billion, it certainly seems like a highly attractive alternative for the Government-backed Airports Commission.
Additionally, a second runway at Gatwick would have far less of a negative impact upon the environment and population. The Heathrow expansion plan has already encountered significant opposition from environmental groups, while local residents have voiced concerns over the increase in noise pollution and fumes.
Unfortunately, though, this could be the least of the local community’s issues should the Mayor’s ideal plan go ahead. Principal at design and planning company AECOM, Christopher Choa, argues that a new hub would render Heathrow obsolete, with devastating consequences for the local economy.
He says; “If you shut down Heathrow, which you will have to do if you make a new hub somewhere else, you are effectively creating a ghetto that is very, very far away from all of the places that you could possibly trade and exchange with. Who is going to live there?”
However, the solution presented by Global Infrastructure Partners is not without its issues, as it hinges entirely on the co-operation of other airports in London. Rather than building a single hub airport Gatwick has argued that a network, or “constellation”, of smaller sites which would work together to increase the number of international flights to key destinations on a daily basis.
With the deadline for suggestions to the issue having passed, the Airports Commission now has the task of compiling a report to put forward to the government for final consideration. Regardless of the outcome, it is without doubt that London needs to expand its capacity before the Eurozone recovers and capital cities across the continent capitalize on Britain’s inability to stay ahead in the game.
Do you think an “airport constellation” is the best option for London, or would a single hub airport be more attractive to international businesses?
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