Britain’s government has promised a final decision by the end of 2015 on whether or not to endorse a plan for a new third runway at London Heathrow Airport recommended Wednesday by an independent review by the UK Airports Commission. The review team, led by Sir Howard Davies, said that use of the controversial third runway would stand subject to noise limits and “levies” as well a night ban on flights between 11:30 p.m. and 6 a.m. The commission also proposed formal legislation to bar the prospect of a possible fourth runway at the UK’s main hub airport.
The Airports Commission review considered and rejected two other options: an extension to Heathrow’s existing northern runway, which would effectively create an additional runway, and a possible second runway at London Gatwick Airport. The plan for a third runway at Heathrow has faced fierce opposition from leading figures in the UK’s ruling Conservative Party, and Prime Minister David Cameron now faces a potentially damaging political battle in determining whether or not to accept the recommendation. Cameron told Parliament on Thursday that he needs to give further consideration to the legal implications of the recommendations, prompting renewed accusations of procrastination and indecisiveness on the part of his administration.
The review process has taken three years, and business leaders have become increasingly insistent about the need for the government to take a firm decision or risk compromising London’s role as a leading global economic center. However, the UK government doesn’t have to accept the commission’s recommendation. In theory, it could insist on one of the other two options or even refuse to accept any of the three plans.
“Expansion at Heathrow delivers an earlier and more significant increase in the scale and capacity of the UK’s overall long-haul network,” commented Sir Howard. In essence, the commission concluded that Heathrow and Gatwick could deliver similar additional aircraft movements per year, but while Gatwick’s would comprise lots of cheap, medium-haul flights, Heathrow’s would encourage more desirable long-haul connections.
“With no availability at its main hub airport, London is beginning to find that new routes to important long-haul destinations are set up elsewhere in Europe rather than in the UK,” said Sir Howard in his foreword to the report. “Other UK airports are increasingly squeezed out of Heathrow, with passengers from the nations and regions obliged to transfer through other European airports, or Middle Eastern hubs. That costs them time and money and is off-putting to inward investors. Without action soon the position will continue to deteriorate, and the entire London system will be full by 2040.”
London’s Conservative mayor Boris Johnson, who had favored an all-new airport in the Thames estuary to the east of London, has pledged to continue his staunch opposition to the expansion of Heathrow and firmly predicted that the government will block the plan. He also serves as a member of parliament representing a constituency close to the airport. The commission’s recommendation also faces opposition from other leading Conservative politicians, including leading London mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith.
Gatwick Airport CEO Stewart Wingate also refused to concede defeat and said that a ruling in favor of Heathrow amounts to an anti-competitive move. “Gatwick is still very much in the race,” he commented. “The commission’s report makes clear that expansion at Gatwick is deliverable…it is for the commission to make a recommendation but it is of course for the government to decide. So we now enter the most important stage of the process. We are confident that when the government makes their decision they will choose Gatwick as the only deliverable option.”