| Topic: | Re:Re:Third Runway | |
| Posted by: | John Connelly | |
| Date/Time: | 28/03/12 11:16:00 |
| The Heathrow expansion arguments are, unfortunately, not seen to be about people wanting to fly to Benidorm (bucket and spade routes are unimportant at Heathrow), congestion in the area, or noise. What you can expect to emerge again in support of Runway 3 are the following:- 1) London must be able to compete as a HUB airport with Paris CDG, Schiphol and Frankfurt. Therefore a third runway is essential. 2)Heathrow is the largest port in the UK by value and its ability to expand cargo trade is essential. 3) A huge number of jobs depend upon Heathrow, by far the largest employer to the West of the City. 4) The Tourist industry depends upon Heathrow expansion for its own future growth. These arguments succeeded for T5 even thought BAA promised no further expansion after T4 was approved many years ago. Runway 3 was put on ice because of the General Election in 2010 but did not go away. Cynics might see the current debate as an opportunity to Boris to play to the audience in the run up to his election, but his views will be irrellevant if the business lobby decides the time has come. The reality is that the two main parties represent interest groups that have always supported airport expansion, and the views of a few local MP's on the issue are largely immaterial. |