Heathrow 3rd Runway Would Be A Sticking Plaster For London
BAA, the owners of Heathrow, presented their case for a third runway at Heathrow yesterday to the Davies Commission. It said a new runway could be in place by 2029, allowing 260,000 more flights.
Most of the aviation industry and Boris Johnson, the London mayor oppose Heathrow’s expansion plans. As do residents and environmentalists. In fact other than BAA and British Airways, it’s hard to find anyone who thinks this would be the right answer to London’s airport capacity issues.
And there are capacity issue – no one disagrees with that. To continue to compete with other major international airport hubs on mainland Europe (never mind globally), decisions must be made on how London can handle the increasing demand for air travel.
But Heathrow is entirely the wrong location. For a variety of reasons, London’s major airport is based in the worst possible place – in the western suburbs, requiring aircraft to fly low over the most densely populated area of the UK. Read more in my previous post: Why Heathrow is in the wrong place for London
On Monday, Mayor of London Boris Johnson published his proposal. He has outlined three possible replacement hubs – the Thames Estuary “Boris Island”; a major expansion at Stansted; or an airport at the Isle of Grain in north Kent.
Expanding Heathrow, at a cost of £14bn – £18bn, would just be throwing good money after bad. It’s a temporary solution at best. A bigger, bolder decision is needed, to relocate London’s major airport entirely.
Let’s hope Sir Howard Davies agrees.
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