Airport capacity: Doing nothing no longer an option
With the launch of its pledge today, the Let Britain Fly campaign calls for a public commitment from politicians to stop dithering on the building of new airport runways.
Our capital’s airports are increasingly under pressure, limiting out ability to expand our international connectivity. The UK hasn’t built a new, full-length runway in the South East since the Second World War. With Heathrow already full, Gatwick full by 2020 and all of London’s airports forecast to be full by the mid-2020s, it is clear that doing nothing is no longer an option.
The debate around airports expansion all too often provides a voice to people who are opposed to new airport infrastructure. However,
a recent survey by the Office of National Statisticsshowed that 59% of the British public supported the construction of new runways.
A new initiativeby the
Let Britain Flycampaign attempts to mobilise this ‘silent majority’ who recognise the economic benefits excellent international connectivity brings to the UK in terms of future jobs, growth and economic prosperity.
Generations of politicians have dithered over air capacity and kicked a decision on where to build a new runway into the long-grass. Today, the
Let Britain Flycampaign aims to end this political procrastination with the launch of a Pledge calling on politicians to commit to building new runways soon after the 2015 General Election and to ensure a Parliamentary vote on the issue by 2016 at the latest.
Over the coming year using email and social media,
Let Britain Flyhopes to engage hundreds of thousands of people in this important debate through this Pledge. By giving the British people a chance to speak out and have their say on the country’s future connectivity, we hope to demonstrate to politicians that this is an issue that thousands of people around the country regard as central to the UK’s economic future.
The Airports Commission could be a promising step towards resolving a problem that has spanned almost 70 years, but we need political action to ensure the final report isn’t shelved. No matter what the Commission’s final recommendation is, ahead of the election we need politicians to make a public commitment to build new runways now.
You can sign up to the public pledge
here.
Gavin Hayes, Director, Let Britain Fly
