Airlines join forces over Heathrow expansion
Airlines British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and bmi have joined forces to call on the British government to approve a third runway at Heathrow, it was announced today.
The groups have launched a £100,000 (€142,000) advertising campaign, warning that if the government fails to give expansion at Heathrow the go-ahead then important economic benefits and thousands of jobs from the aviation industry will go elsewhere in Europe.
British Secretary of State for Transport Alistair Darling is due to announce in the next few days whether the government will back expanding Heathrow or building an additional runway at Stansted.
In a letter to be published in newspapers this week, the groups say creating a third runway at Heathrow would bring around £37bn (€52.6bn) of benefits to the UK and create 24,000 direct jobs and 80,000 indirect jobs by 2030.
But they warn that if the government opts for Stansted ,aviation business will go to Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam instead.
They say: “For Britain to be a global player in aviation we need to expand Heathrow. Otherwise business will go to Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam.
“While Stansted should be developed in the future, it will never be able to compete with Paris Charles de Gaulle, Frankfurt International or Amsterdam Schiphol airports.”
The letter points out that while Heathrow has only two runways, Amsterdam Schiphol has five, Paris Charles de Gaulle has four and Frankfurt International has three.
It says: “If the right decision is not taken now, our aviation industry will be diminished, impacting not only London, but also the British economy.
“We are confident that the environmental challenges will be resolved so that a new runway can be built at Heathrow.”
The letter is signed by BA’s chief executive Rod Eddington, Virgin Atlantic’s chairman Sir Richard Branson, bmi’s chairman Sir Michael Bishop and Brendan Barber, general secretary of the British TUC.
The airlines have previously said they have not ruled out taking legal action against the government if it backs the expansion of Stansted over Heathrow.
They are concerned that the development would be cross-subsidised through higher landing charges being levied at Heathrow.
