Given that most who visit and post on the hallowed pages of PPRuNe have some understanding of the air transport industry I'm amazed at the diversity of views on here re additional airport capacity.
I have to confess that when in opposition the Conservative party said that if they won the 2010 election they would bin R3 i was gobbed smacked and to me it showed the naivety of DC & Co, airport expansion is always going to be politically difficult, but Labour had already given the go ahead, why pick a fight you don't need to?
Sadly another example of a political party placing their own perceived interests above those of the nation they claim to serve. The Tories rejected Labour's third runway at LHR because they were desperate to maintain/win seats in the area - and in the event, in their narrow thinking, they were right to do so because they were unable to gain a majority despite this action and despite facing one of the country's least popular PMs in Gordon Brown. The icing on the cake is that they deliberately delay the Airports Commission report until after the next election because they can't face the flak, and Red Ed then goes back on support for the 3rd runway. Since the most likely result of the next election is a Lab/Lib Dem coalition the whole business will no doubt rumble on without any conclusion......... SO depressing....