Heathrow extra runway
It has always seemed odd to me that we all have to go through Heathrow (and sometimes Gatwick) to go anywhere internationally.
The UK isn't a very large country in terms of area and distance between major cities and there are lots of airports across the nation.
My home (when I am in the UK) is in Cornwall. There are two perfectly good airfields within reasonable distance from the Duchy. One is Exeter (with full time Customs representation) and the other is Newquay (Saint Mawgan) which can be easily serviced by Customs Officers from Falmouth (indeed, it occasionally is as I can attest from past experience!). The latter is, I know, a military base but it is also a major MDA and has been operating as a regional airport for Brymon/BA for many years. There is absolutely no reason at all why both these airports could not be better utilised internationally.
I'm sure the same goes for countless airports across the country.
Why can't the airlines spread the load more? What is this insistance that they must get as close as possible to central London?
Leave aside the foreign visitors for the moment and just concentrate on the hundreds of thousands of Brits who make their living by working overseas and who, on average, return to the UK on leave two to three times a year. They don't all live near London.
Pprune is read by many in the airline industry. Could we have some feedback from the airlines on this issue perhaps?