The Independent Transport Commission (ITC) has released a report, Flying into the Future: Key issues for assessing Britain’s aviation infrastructure needs. The report is based on the wide range of submissions received by the ITC in response to its Call for Evidence during Autumn 2012. The authors assert that
- international connectivity is important for the UK economy and jobs;
- short-haul connectivity can be improved by developing regional airports, close to local and regional catchment areas; and
- improving long-haul connectivity is central the UKs economic position.
The authors argue the need for an improved hub airport with increased capacity (whilst rejecting alternative suggestions) and suggest that the best sites for an improved hub are Heathrow, Stansted or the Thames Estuary.
The report raises four key issues which it believes need addressing as part of the increase in capacity:
- Closing Heathrow – the ITC concludes that if a new hub airport is developed at Stansted or in the Thames Estuary, Heathrow will almost certainly have to close. This will have widespread implications, and needs far more attention than it has yet received.
- Costs and charges – the ITC raises fears that airlines and passengers might face increased charges at a new Estuary Airport, more than twice those for an expanded Heathrow, and two-thirds more than at an expanded Stansted.
- A new town? – the ITC believes that building a new hub airport, whether at Stansted or elsewhere, could require urban development including homes, schools, and local transport. The ITC estimates the size of such development would be on the scale of a new Peterborough.
- Noise – the report states that planes are getting quieter and proposes an assessment of whether a package of measures (such as moving the runways westward) would enable Heathrow to provide the extra connectivity needed while also reducing the problem of noise for local residents.
The report has been submitted to the Airports Commission, chaired by Sir Howard Davies.