Tuesday 25 October 2016

Putting all our eggs in one airport is the wrong choice.

It was announced today that a third runway at Heathrow is to get the go-ahead, despite opposition from environmental groups and local residents. While supporters of the scheme rave about the economical benefits, the plan concentrates airport capacity in the South-East of England. Surely it would benefit regional airports like Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow to have more international flights terminating at those airports instead of using Heathrow as the sole hub for the UK? Again, London suffers badly from air pollution, so it would make sense to move aircraft away from London. With HS2 imminent, Birmingham is in an ideal position to share international routes with the London hubs. If the idea of high speed rail is to bring the midlands (and eventually the north) closer to London, it's time to move airport capacity away from the capital.