Airport chiefs slam Lib Dem pre-election manifesto
Airport chiefs have criticised the Liberal Democrats’ call for no airport expansion in its pre-election manifesto.
The document, released by the political party today, promises to ‘ensure no net increase in runways across the UK as a whole’ and sets out opposition to ‘any expansion of Heathrow, Stansted or Gatwick and any new airport in the Thames Estuary’.
Darren Caplan, chief executive of the Airport Operators Association (AOA) claimed the party was ‘pre-judging’ an independent airport review.
He said: "It is disappointing that the Liberal Democrats pre-election manifesto prejudges the conclusions of an independent Airports Commission that they themselves helped to set up in government.
"Aviation growth is not an abstract choice between economic growth on the one hand and credibility on the environment on the other. Aviation can both expand – with all the resulting benefits that this brings with respect to jobs and our future connectivity – and deliver on the green agenda at the same time."
At the same time a survey of MPs found that 88% of MPs think a successful hub airport is critical to UK economic success.
The Ipsos MORI poll also found 58% of MPs back a third runway at Heathrow while 13% support a second runway at Gatwick to solve the issue of hub airport capacity. Only 13% think the best option would be to do nothing.
On Monday, the CBI described the UK’s lack of hub capacity as a ‘ticking time bomb’ when it published research highlighting that it is usually hub airports that deliver new connections to emerging markets.
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