18 January 2011
London Mayor, Boris Johnson, has backed a report – ‘A New Airport for London’ – calling for a new airport in South-East England. Overseen by Daniel Moylan, Deputy Chairman of Transport for London, the report claims the economy will suffer and jobs will be lost to European competitors without a new large-scale hub airport. Mr Johnson felt that for London to remain at the centre of global business it needs aviation links that will allow the city to compete with its rivals.
Mr Johnson said “for London to retain its position as the heartbeat of global business, we need aviation links that will allow us to compete with our rivals. The capital’s airports are full, our runways are rammed and we risk losing jobs to Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Madrid or other European cities should we fail to act. No other city even approaches the volume of passengers handled at London’s airports but we need to start planning for a brand new airport that can help meet the ever-increasing demand for aviation and act as a hub, particularly to the rest of the UK.”
Although Mr Johnson has long favoured an airport in the Thames Estuary, the report does not specify a particular site for a new airport. Boris Johnson has commissioned another report to be published later this year that will consider a range of locations for new airport capacity. This will include options for a new airport, which could be in the Thames Estuary, as well as consideration of existing sites with the exception of Heathrow.
http://www.uk-airport-news.info/heathrow-airport-news-180111b.html