| Topic: | Heathrow is simply in the wrong place | |
| Posted by: | David Giles | |
| Date/Time: | 14/11/12 20:05:00 |
| said a former BAA Director on BBC Radio 4 yesterday. I didn't catch the man's name but he clearly said that Heathrow should not have been chosen as the site of London's major airport when it was changed from military to civilian use in 1946. He said the prevailing wind in the UK is westerly so runways normally run east to west (or vice versa). It was therefore wrong to build a major airport due west of London so planes would have to fly over a major population centre. He said the airport should have been built either North or South of London. This of course is what happens in Madrid, Paris, Milan, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Birmingham, Manchester,Cork, Dublin and in many other cities. Edinburgh and Glasgow Airports are exceptions to this rule presumably because like Heathrow they were originally built to defend the city at a time when air defense was more important than aircraft noise and pollution. If Heathrow was built in the wrong place in 1946 when air traffic was relatively minor, why compound the error now when it is expanding rapidly ? |