Airports Commission report: Heathrow or Gatwick runway expansion? A decision will finally be made on Wednesday June 29, 2015 We are finally going to find out the best way to accommodate the ever increasing number of people traveling to the UK by air. The long-delayed decision by Sir Howard Davies's Airports Commission on the best way to expand airport capacity will be revealed on Wednesday after a long and hard-fought battle between Heathrow and [...]
Gatwick executive blasts Heathrow as a monopoly as its traffic numbers make case for expansion June 25, 2015 Gatwick Airport today announced record passenger growth – which senior executives said adds to Gatwick's case that it should be recommended for expansion. The airport had the busiest year in its history, with 38.7m passengers travelling through it in the year to the end of March. On one day in August there were 906 traffic [...]
Devolution is coming: Now the Midlands needs to make the most of it June 25, 2015 Speaking outside Number 10 on 8th May, the Prime Minister declared that his new government’s mission was “ensuring this recovery reaches all parts of our country.” At Birmingham Airport, we are clear that unlocking new growth in our region means supporting new direct aviation connectivity opportunities around the world. This is why we are focused [...]
Airport expansion is now too urgent for the government to delay further June 22, 2015 According to recent media reports, the decision to build a new runway could face further delay. It seems the government may not respond to the Airports Commission’s imminent report until the end of this year, or possibly early next year. This is slow: the Airports Commission it helped establish has already spent the best part [...]
David Lammy: Sadiq Khan was wrong to rule out expansion at Heathrow – the decision must be based on what’s right for London June 19, 2015 Extending London’s airport capacity will be a key issue for the next mayor. It is not something that we can afford to keep pushing into the long grass. Already London business is missing out: last year, Germany overtook the UK for new investments – disappointing, but hardly surprising considering it has significantly more connections [...]
Zac Goldsmith says Heathrow airport expansion plan is undeliverable June 17, 2015 Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith stepped up his campaign against the expansion of Heathrow airport yesterday, and said adding to the existing site is “politically undeliverable”. The environmentalist MP for Richmond Park launched a new website, www.heathrowflightpaths.co.uk, which features on its homepage a map purporting to show the areas of London that will be affected [...]
Labour’s London mayor hopefuls debate Heathrow airport expansion June 17, 2015 The six Labour candidates hoping to succeed Boris Johnson as mayor of London have clashed over London airport expansion. Tooting MP and former transport secretary Sadiq Khan set the tone for the debate, following his backing of expansion at Gatwick airport. He defended his opposition to Heathrow's third runway, saying that London's air quality was already [...]
Gatwick airport partners with budget airline WestJet as runway expansion report looms June 16, 2015 Canadian budget airline WestJet has selected Gatwick as its first English destination from Canada, in a boon to the airport’s expansion campaign. WestJet’s wide-body Boeing 767-300 aircraft will begin flying the route next year, with the Canadian airports yet to be determined. WestJet boss Gregg Saretsky said Gatwick is the “ideal airport” for its first [...]
Why we need to expand Gatwick airport and make Heathrow better – not bigger June 16, 2015 The choice over where to build the additional airport capacity London needs will be one of the major challenges facing the next London Mayor. I have no doubt that our economy needs more aviation capacity, but after much thought, I have decided that I cannot support a third runway at Heathrow. The damage it would [...]
More delays: Airports Commission to face courtroom stand-off with angry Teddington residents over pollution review June 15, 2015 The decision over where to build a new runway is about to be put off for even longer, after a group of residents in Teddington (in Heathrow's flight path) applied for a Judicial Review of the work of the Airports Commission. Read more: Businesses slam delay over airports action The Commission, led by Sir Howard [...]