Heathrow expansion 'right choice' for whole of UK - Telegraph
Four of these airports have links to/from LHR:
ABZ, GLA, LBA, LPL and NCL
Liverpool John Lennon Airport backs Heathrow third runway as it looks to re-establish a London link - Liverpool Echo
LPL would appear to want like such links.
Significantly, a few of the larger airports are missing:
EDI (favours LGW? same ownership),
MAN (favours STN? same ownership),
BHX (wants to be the third rwy?)
BE wants to operate from NHT.....very long term LHR ambitions?
The letter in full:
Dear Sir Howard,
The so-called London Airports debate is not about London at all. It is about the aviation industry as a whole – an industry that employs 960,000 people – boosting growth across the UK and contributing £52bn to the UK economy. Airports are an integral part of local economies; our growth generates growth in our regions.
We are continually looking to grow our route networks – by starting new routes to airports in cities and countries that are destinations in their own right, and by connecting to hub airports to allow our passengers to transfer on to a wider variety of long-haul destinations. But the UK’s hub airport, Heathrow, is full. This is limiting the slots available for domestic routes and onward connections, and limiting choice for our passengers.
The health of the UK aviation industry is not about the success of one airport, but the success of all our airports, each performing a vital role. Heathrow’s role is as the UK’s hub, one of only six worldwide with more than 50 long haul routes and expansion there would create over 200,000 more slots. For expansion to benefit the whole country there must be a mechanism in place to strengthen and secure domestic connections to the UK’s hub. We will be backing Heathrow expansion in the Airports Commission consultation as the right choice for the whole of the UK.
Yours sincerely,
Carol Benzie, Managing Director, Aberdeen International Airport
Amanda McMillan, Managing Director, Glasgow Airport
John Parkin, CEO, Leeds Bradford International Airport
Andrew Cornish, CEO, Liverpool John Lennon Airport
David Laws, Chief Executive, Newcastle International Airport