Industry | 2009.12.06
MPs back third runway at Heathrow
Support for Heathrow expansion comes ahead of a report on aviation industry\'s progress in meeting climate target
The government\'s approval of a third runway at Heathrow has been endorsed by MPs, ahead of the publication tomorrow of an independent report on aviation\'s contribution to climate change.
The House of Commons transport committee backs the expansion of Britain\'s largest airport in a report published today, adding that airline passengers would be better served by a second runway at Gatwick rather than Stansted. "In view of the economic benefits to the UK, we endorse the government\'s January 2009 decision to support a third runway at Heathrow and an additional terminal," says the report.
It states that a second runway at Stansted is unlikely to be completed before 2019 due to planning wrangles and priority should be given instead to Gatwick, where an embargo against expanding Britain\'s second largest airport expires in 2019.
The endorsement of the Heathrow policy comes as the Committee on Climate Change prepares to publish its own aviation report. Alongside approving a third runway, the government introduced a target of limiting aviation\'s carbon dioxide emissions to 2005 levels by 2050. The committee, set up to advise ministers how to reduce carbon emissions, will report on aviation\'s progress towards the target tomorrow, including comments on whether a third runway will hinder the industry\'s ability to meet the 2050 benchmark.
A leading campaigner against Heathrow expansion said the transport committee had "failed to move with the times". John Stewart, who chairs Hacan (Heathrow Association for the Control of Airport Noise), added: "It trots out the tired, old discredited arguments in favour of Heathrow expansion. The economic case for Heathrow expansion is just no longer accepted by the majority of decision-makers."
Ministers argue that congestion-choked Heathrow needs to expand, otherwise leading businesses including financial services firms will locate their bases in countries with larger, less crowded airports. With a third runway, Heathrow would go from handling 67 million people a year to 135 million. If there is no expansion those passengers will simply go elsewhere, travelling through rival hubs in Paris or Amsterdam at considerable cost to British jobs, the government believes.
The Liberal Democrats warn today that an expanded Heathrow will cost the government billions in terms of the price of carbon dioxide generated by 220,000 extra flights a year. "In light of the new government guidance on the cost of CO 2 emissions, Heathrow expansion will actually cost us billions," said Susan Kramer, the party\'s Heathrow spokeswoman. "Only this government could dress up a loss of billions of pounds as a reason to have a third runway. We don\'t need a bigger Heathrow to keep London competitive."
The Conservatives are also opposed to a third runway.
The transport committee also backed high-speed rail as a key feature of Britain\'s future transport infrastructure, arguing that it is "imperative" that the new network is linked to airports such as Heathrow.
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/20[...]s-third-runway-heathrow-report
