quote --- so what do we do in the next 50yrs---
Build Boris Island which has much the same time scale with far less disruption
& link Northolt to LHR with a monorail making it a purely domestic hub thus eliminating all the immigration and customs headaches.
Here we go again, banging on about grandoise infrastructures that business won't fund and nor will the government. Tweeking the number 90 bus route to go via LHR-1/2/3 and extending it from Northolt station may be the only way to link NHT and LHR.
NHT would only work as a small local airport like LCY and SEN for thin routes and possibly for "no-frills" operations to serve the large area west of London.
Without rwy realignment it would be a very limited operation. It has no role as a LHR third rwy on a "Heathwick" style arrangement.
Ho ho, and how do you think Boris MP would react to an expanding airport in his constituency.
Oh, he's up for selection this evening.
If it only serves domestic routes, it's not a hub.
try telling US airlines that - the definition of a hub airport is one where a major airline concentrates traffic for inter-lining
it doesn't need to be international
Correct in the USA, Canada, China, Russia and other big countries, but in European countries, the chances are that any hub would be international.
Clearly I did not explain myself clearly
Heathrow is 98% full. I am unsure of its domestic movements but even if its only 10% & all domestic flts are shipped to Northolt with decent connections to LHR, maybe HS2 could route through it too, then that buys 3yrs of growth at 3% pa, not much I know but it buys time.
You're having a laugh! The days of 10% domestic operations at LHR are long gone. You said it: LHR is 98% full, pretty obvious then that it should have been expanded years ago.
LHR needs expansion urgently. The case is answerable. Let's get on with it.