With international businesses now playing a key role in the British economy it has thrown into sharp relief the need for higher levels of airport capacity – with London being one area affected by this issue in particular.
Several plans have been put forward in a bid to resolve this problem, with the construction of a new hub airport currently being supported by London Mayor Boris Johnson. He has been somewhat outspoken on the matter, resoundingly rejecting the idea of expansion at Heathrow.
However, the UK’s largest airport has today announced its intention to submit plans detailing the construction of a third runway to the Davies Commission. This is a government-appointed body which will play an instrumental role in determining Britain’s aerospace future.
According to Heathrow chief executive Colin Matthews, his airport is best placed to meet the demands of foreign business passengers and the general public. He claims that action must be taken soon to avoid the risk of Britain “dropping out of the premier league” of European airport hubs.
He says; “If the UK does not want to be left behind by its foreign rivals, it must have the connectivity to compete and trade on the world stage.
“That connectivity can only come from a single hub airport in the right place for taxpayers, passengers and business.
“Only Heathrow can meet all these demands.”
While the exact details of the plan, including timescale and cost, have not yet been released to the public, there is no doubt that the expansion of Heathrow would be the quickest and cheapest option for the government. However, critics including Mayor Johnson have questioned the long-term consequences of this avenue, believing that capacity could once more become an issue down the line.
Furthermore, the plan has faced huge opposition from environmental activists including campaign group Friends of the Earth. Local residents have also made their feelings on the matter known, claiming that the noise and air pollution caused as a result of Heathrow’s expansion would have a detrimental effect upon their living conditions.
Mayor Johnson has backed the view of residents, and last Monday submitted a report outlining three alternative options: either the creation of a new airport based on an artificial land mass in the Thames Estuary; an expansion of Stansted; or creating a new hub airport on the Isle of Grain in Kent. These areas all provide room for further expansion in the future and, most importantly, would not overly affect the lives of those in populated areas.
He says; “Ambitious cities all over the world are already stealing a march on us by constructing mega airports.
“Those cities have moved heaven and earth to locate their airports away from their major centres of population, in areas where they have been able to build airports with four runways or more.
“Anyone who believes there would be space to do that at Heathrow, which already blights the lives of hundreds of thousands of Londoners, is quite simply crackers.”
Do you believe an expansion at Heathrow is the best option in terms of cost and timeframe, or is investing in a new long-term hub more economical in the long term?
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