London’s airport saga took another twist last week when interested parties submitted proposals to the Davies Commission. Plans ranged from building extra runways at Heathrow to demolishing it and building a new, larger airport in east London. Meanwhile, several of London’s smaller, satellite airports submitted upgrade plans that would see them receive a larger share of future traffic.
The one thing almost everyone agrees on is that Britain needs more airport capacity, says Robert Peston on BBC.co.uk. “An open trading economy like the UK’s requires what is known as a ‘hub airport’ [that] stimulates trade, and persuades overseas businesses to open offices and plant near the airport.” Some estimate that an improved London hub would add up to £2bn in trade. Heathrow, operating at full capacity, has already lost new Chinese flights to Frankfurt, “and that brings the risk that Chinese businesses will set up shop near Frankfurt, and not in Britain”.
The difficulty, says the Evening Standard, is deciding where to build. “A third runway at Heathrow is probably the quickest fix to the issue of airport capacity”, but an estimated cost of £14bn to £18bn isn’t cheap. A second runway at Gatwick would cost only £5bn, but building couldn’t start before 2019. “No option is straightforward and all will attract substantial opposition locally and from other quarters.” That‘s likely to slow a commission that is not expected to make its final decision until 2016. The long wait is regrettable. “Cities abroad are racing ahead in aviation capacity and London cannot afford these lengthy delays on a decision.”
Whether we really need a ‘hub’ airport is debatable – only 13% of London’s airport passengers are transfer passengers – but Gatwick is “the obvious choice,” agrees Nils Pratley in The Guardian. While it can’t match Heathrow for convenience, “greater competition and less noise is an attractive combination in a race where there is no perfect option.”