Heathrow Airport
A long-awaited report into airport capacity has recommended that a new runway should be built at Heathrow rather than Gatwick.
After three years of investigation, the Airports Commission under Sir Howard Davies said Heathrow was best placed to provide “urgently required” capacity.
It chose a new, full-length runway at Heathrow rather than expanding one of the airport’s current runways or building a new one at Gatwick.
Sir Howard said the recommendations “clear and unanimous”, warning that London’s airports were under strain and the entire system risked becoming clogged by 2040.
His report said Gatwick presented a “plausible” case for expansion but was unlikely to provide capacity which was urgently required, even though it was well placed to cater for growth in European leisure flying.
“Heathrow can provide that capacity most easily and quickly. The benefits are significantly greater, for business passengers, freight operators and the broader economy,” said Sir Howard.
John Holland-Kaye, chief executive of Heathrow Airport, said: “We will create the world’s best connected, most efficient and most environmentally responsible hub airport at the heart of an integrated transport system. The Commission has backed a positive and ambitious vision for Britain. We will now work with Government to deliver it.”
But Gatwick Airport’s chief executive Stewart Wingate said: “Gatwick is still very much in the race. 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. We are confident that when the Government makes that decision they will choose Gatwick as the only deliverable option.
“Gatwick will give the country the economic benefits it needs and at the same time impact far less people. It is quicker simpler and quieter. Above all – after decades of delay – it can actually happen.”