Prime Minister ‘urges alternative to Heathrow expansion’
Prime Minister David Cameron is believed to have urged the head of the panel reviewing options for expanding airport capacity in the southeast of England to come up with an alternative to additional runways at Heathrow.
The PM is known to have held a last-minute meeting this week with Sir Howard Davies amid speculation that all proposals likely to be published in his interim report next Tuesday will involve building an additional runway at London’s busiest airport.
Sky News said the panel is understood to have outlined three proposals: a third runway at Heathrow; a bigger expansion comprising two new runways there; and an additional runway at Heathrow alongside a second runway at Gatwick.
Gatwick Airport’s owners announced this week that they wouldn’t consider building a second runway if Heathrow added a third as it would take too long to recover the construction costs.
The PM is understood to have urged Sir Howard to include in next week’s report an alternative option that does not involve a new runway at Heathrow, possibly an expansion at Stansted or a revival of London Mayor Boris Johnson’s proposal for an airport in the Thames Estuary.
However, a final decision will not be taken until after the next General Election in 2015.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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