Welcome to London Cardiff Airport
Cardiff Airport could be treated as Heathrow’s sixth terminal to solve a shortage of air capacity in the southeast of England.
Sir Howard Davies, who is leading a government-commissioned review on airport expansion in the UK, said the plan was one of a number he will consider.
When the rail line between London and Cardiff is electrified, the journey time between the two cities will be cut by 22 minutes to 1hr 42 mins.
Sir Howard, who will provide an interim report to narrow down the options for airport expansion by the end of next year, will be assisted on the new Airports Commission by a experts including former Manchester Airport Group chief executive Geoff Muirhead.
Other Commission members include Aston University vice chancellor and Committee on Climate Change member Dame Julia King and former chief executive of Network Rail and chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority Sir John Armitt.
Sir Howard said all options for airport expansion would be considered, adding that there was "no clear consensus" on the best way forward for UK airports.
"The coalition Government is prepared for us to look broadly at all the options on the table as well as some that are not on the table so that a government can come to it after the General Election with an open mind," he said.
His commission will try to produce a final report by summer 2015 which would give the government of the day the opportunity to make decisions quickly, added Sir Howard.
Options include:
-Possible further use of Birmingham Airport if the HS2 rail link goes ahead
– A so-called Heathwick plan to link Heathrow and Gatwick with a fast rail link
– Shifting Heathrow westwards, which includes putting part of the M25 in a tunnel
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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