Heathrow Airport expansion - proposal for third runway - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[Bmblbzzz]

Someone was saying that although planes are quick, the time spent travelling to and from airports and checking in, waiting for baggage, etc, means total journey time is comparable to rail for journeys such as London to Edinburgh. This holds true for much longer journeys as well. I used to live in Poland for several years and have travelled from various parts of Poland to UK^▸ (United Kingdom) (Bristol and/or Gloucestershire) by plane, bus and car. A flight from Warsaw to any of the London airports takes about 2h30. An international bus from *town of your choice* to London Victoria takes about 28 hours. But add in getting to Warsaw, getting to the airport, checking in, and the same at the other end, both means take in effect a full day; it's just that on the bus you get an extra night to sleep in! Bus is cheaper and allows almost unlimited luggage, plane more comfortable. By car it took us about two and a half days, but that was our choice, it can be done far quicker. The big loser here is rail: the various connections and border crossings mean it is slower than the bus (and though doubtless more comfortable to sit on, there will be luggage lugging at stations ^ once on the bus, you're on till London) and costs more than flying (and I'm comparing to BA^» (British Airways - about) and LOT, not Whizz or Ryanair).

[Tim]

If HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) is finished, then Birmingham airport will better rail connections than any other airport, and will be quicker to get to. After all, Birmingham airport will be 38 minutes from Euston.

So why not add two runways here and make it the hub? As a bonus, M5/M6/M1/M42 are all nearby with local and national rail lines and HS2 in a few years.

I completely agree than Birmingham Airport will do very well out of HS2 (it will be closer to London than Stansted)  I am not sure it is a good location for a national hub though because it is rather close to Birmingham's suburbs and in many ways would cause as many problems for Brum as LHR does for London.

To avoid city centre over-flights an ideally sited airport needs to be North or South of the city it serves not West (as with Heathrow) or East (as with Birmingham) 

[simonw]

In an ideal world, this country would build a national hub record on the coast, or a sparsely populated piece of land, with good communications to the whole country.

Unfortunately, we are one of the most densely populated countries in the world, leaving the option of an existing coastal air (Glasgow Prestwick or Liverpool John Lennon) or building a new airport (Thames Marshes or Bristol-Newport) or extending an existing airport and inconveniencing the lives and health of many people.

None of these options really works, hence the last four governments have ducked the issue, after all who wants to approve Heathrow expansion with every one living miles around Heathrow being exposed to the health risks of the most polluted airport in Western Europe.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Heathrow third runway public consultation reopened

A public consultation into the planned third runway at Heathrow Airport has been reopened to include new evidence.

The Department for Transport (DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)) published a series of new reports on the environmental impact of expanding the west London airport.

It also revealed that London's airports are expected to hit full capacity by 2034 if there is no expansion.

The consultation initially closed in May, but will now be reopened until December.

The DfT insisted it is "on track" to publish final proposals for expansion in the first half of 2018, ahead of a vote in Parliament.

Among the series of new reports are an updated noise analysis and a new air quality plan.

The government said higher demand for flights also meant the capital's five airports would hit full capacity six years sooner than expected.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said the case for building a third runway at Heathrow was "as strong as ever".

If the scheme is approved by MPs^▸ (Member of Parliament), Heathrow will submit a planning application and consult with local communities on detailed proposals.

The airport hopes to begin construction of the new runway in early 2021, with it being completed by the end of 2025.

Cait Hewitt, deputy director of campaign group the Aviation Environment Federation, claimed the "scale of this re-consultation" shows that the government's case for Heathrow expansion is "unconvincing".

The DfT's estimate about capacity will help to fuel calls for expansion at other airports in the South East, especially at Gatwick which has restated its pledge to build a second runway.

"It is clear that demand for further airport capacity in the South East continues to grow," a spokesperson for Gatwick said. "That's why we have today reiterated our pledge to government to build a second runway at Gatwick regardless of what happens at Heathrow."