Buster,
"One thing is for sure, it gives all the anti-airport complainers time to re-group and prepare for their own battles and the airports had better plan for this united front!
Goodness only knows how many hurdles face any airports growth in future?"
And already face now! The industry as a whole has to wake up to this, and it strikes me as rather odd that the Freedom to Fly group was disbanded (think this was mentioned on a thread the other day).
More airlines also need to start taking leadership on the wider environmental concerns - BA, EZ and BE seem to be quite happy to consider emmissions trading and/or environmental labelling, but the likes of Ryanair are unsurprisingly against it (even if it would not affect them as much as many other carriers, as their '800s are very efficient machines).
There is going to have to be give and take over this - especially as this government likes to be seen to be "doing the right thing" (LOL), and trying to please everyone.
I have always felt that there is an anomaly between airlines saying on one hand "we're really struggling right now, don't tax us", and on the other "we need to be able to expand aggresively and build more runways".
Surely it is possible to phase in a reasonable level of taxation on either fuel (subject to international agreements) or emmissions (easier to do unilaterally?) in place of the grossly unfair APD. If airlines are seen to be covering more of their environmental externalities, then are they not in a much stronger position to argue for improved facilities?
Who is really there to represent the industry? ELFAA only serve no frills airlines, many of whom (EZ most notably) are not members. How much lobbying do IATA actually do? When do the AOA ever say anything worthwhile?
One thing we can be sure of, as Buster has so rightly pointed out is that nimbyism is a rampant and fast growing virus, which needs to be culled! Scare stories about planes falling out of the sky and spraying local kiddies with pollution, fueled by ill informed newspaper hacks, often make the perfect breeding ground for this disease to spread.
I can respect legitimate and life long environmental campaigners, but most of the anti airport rabble are just out to protect their narrow interests, and have lots of things to whinge about, but very few answers beyond "pass the airport" to the next local authority.
If this debate is not lead from within the industry, the airlines and airports will only have themselves to blame.