Whilst the politicians procrastinate the only interim solution is for Heathrow to go to 24 hour unlimited operations with mixed mode on both runways. That should allow another 12 months of increase in traffic, after that........
Guess it's one way to "persuade" the anti-Heathrow expansion vocal minority that a 3rd and 4th rwy are needed.
Trouble is that much of the vocal minority live miles away and are unaffected by aircraft noise.
The problem with a third (and sensibly a fourth) runway is that construction should have started at least 5 years ago
Should have been
completed 5 years ago!
Never mind. Scotland will most likely vote YES next week. The tories will win the election next year having got shot of the West Lothian Brigade. Cameron will be ousted having "lost" Scotland, Boris will be elected PM and ...........sanity will be restored to the world of aviation.
It's not cut and dried. If the Scots vote "yes", then all bets are off.
Expect an early election and new party leaders - oh, and the Airports Commission reporting several months earlier.
Whilst I am not particularly a supporter of Boris Island I do think one has to wonder if LHR really knows where it's going. Trying to squeeze more into a tiny plot has little future, just to build one R/w is going to be mega disruptive Circa 1000 homes distroyed and hellish transport problems with M25 put into a tunnel widened to 10 lanes whilst it remains the major road artery around London. The disruption will be hellish, not just to London but the airport itself. Then there is another terminal with links. By the time it's finished in say 10yrs it will be swamped with traffic
So what then?
This is where Boris has vision, it may be nice for all the vested interests to just think LHR but sensibly we do have to move on
Yes, yes all very visionary, but what do we do in the intervening 50 years?
Nothing?
Realistically, LHR would have to be expanded in the interim anyway, so let's just concentrate on that site only and do it properly.
Whst about making Manchester a hub.
It has a huge investment from the Chinese.
I'm sure they coukd double the size.
It can be linked to HS2 if they start next year on HS2 and it's northern arms at the same time Eg Start HS2 In the North and South Simultaneously .
Give Manchester two more runways and new terminals.
Bring BA up lock stock and Barell .
Manchester like EMA is in the physical middle of the map.
In real terms its not too far from Most of England , Wales and Scotland.
Granted there woukd have to be serious investments and slits from Newquay and Exeter perhaps reopening Plymouth to give the Southwest equal accsess to it by means if regular feeder traffic
Heathrow can continue to be a large airport but if you had another UK hub mainly for the UK carriers it it would surely Free up LHR to a host of new routes and international carriers.
Perhaos even the likes of Ryanair with no bother of expansion .
I just dont see how continously expanding Heathrow is the answer.
It can't be.
Because sooner or later yiyr going to.run out of safe airspace
Great idea - if we were under a "command economy" system.
We aren't, most of aviation and related industry is in the private sector, and therefore any scheme has to be a good business proposition.
Another airport (like EMA) that didn't feature in any of the proposals made to the Airports Commission.
Hmmm, EMA, MAN, STN, any one noticed what they have in common?