White elephant warning on airports

The deadline for making submissions to the government’s consultation on the future airport capacity for the UK is today.

Earlier this week the Mayor of London set out his ideas to solve Britain’s air capacity problems to the independent inquiry, which is due to report in 2015.

Boris Johnson favours the Isle of Grain in Kent, expanding Stansted or creating an artificial island in the Thames Estuary, and is opposed to expansion at Heathrow

However, London’s main airport has put forward options for a third runway.

The British Air Transport Association( BATA) has said both hub capacity and non-hub capacity should be increased, and increasing capacity beyond its current constraints is essential to maintain the UK’s business competitiveness.

It warned that unaffordable or poorly located capacity will not be used and risks being a ‘white elephant’.

Simon Buck, Chief Executive of BATAsaid:

“To ensure there is no further erosion of the UK’s competitive position, the Government must set a clear commitment to a new and robust national aviation policy that truly maintains the UK’s status as an international hub for aviation and also permits growth in non-hub airport capacity when and where demand requires.

“There are significant risks associated with an increasing reliance on overseas hub airports to provide connectivity for the UK.

“Relying on overseas airports will lead to a degradation of UK connectivity while existing UK hub capacity slowly withers.

“As a country we would be handing over a strategic national asset and resource to foreign interests and would no longer be in charge of our own destiny. This would have serious implications for the future security of the UK’s global connectivity.”

BATAsaid Heathrow, the UK’s only existing hub, has effectively been at capacity for over a decade, and expansion would allow UK airlines and airports to serve the customer demand.