A summary of short and medium term proposals and long term proposals submitted for runways and airports have been published.
The Airports Commission has (7 August 2013) published a summary of the short and medium term measures submitted to inform its deliberations on how to make best use of existing airport capacity, and all the long term proposals submitted for new runways, airports and infrastructure changes designed to strengthen the UK and London’s air connections with the world.
Sir Howard Davies, the Chair of the Airports Commission, said:
‘The proposals that we have received and that we have published today (7 August 2013) demonstrate imaginative and thoughtful responses to the challenges that the Airports Commission has been set but also show clearly the wide spectrum of views that exist on these issues.’
‘The timetable to comment is tight, as we need to move quickly to winnow down the options and reduce uncertainty for potentially affected communities. I encourage everyone with an interest to make their views known, to help inform our recommendations on these complex and important questions.’
The short and medium term summary paper covers a wide range of proposals with recurring themes such as the importance of resilience in the UK’s airport system and of taking into account the noise and carbon emissions from any short and medium term measures proposed. These proposals will be analysed alongside any evidence and views submitted over the coming months.
The detailed proposals for long term options have (7 August 2013) all been published on the commission’s website (if not previously published by the sponsor themselves). Any comments received will be considered alongside the proposals.
The commission has also published an information note which gives details on the processes and timings that may be established in phase 2 of the commission’s work, should its interim report conclude that a significant increase in aviation capacity is needed. This is to inform all interested parties of the likely time frames for any work that may need to be undertaken in phase 2.
Parties are invited to submit comments on all the documents published (7 August 2013) from now until 27 September 2013.