Hoon approves Heathrow Third Runway
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Government backs decision to expand Britain’s busiest airport.
Transport Minister Geoff Hoon confirmed ealier today that Heathrow would expand with a third runway and an additional terminal.
The debate has sparked controversy with MPs divided over a desire to kick-start the failing economy and a concern over the environmental effects of increasing air travel capacity to the London hub.
Mr Hoon reassured members of the Commons that the government would impose strict environmental guidelines on the aviation industry to ensure it stuck to its commitments to reduce levels of CO2 being emitted as a result of air travel.
Once the third runway is built, an initial cap of 125,000 new flights would ensure emission levels did not raise significantly. Mr Hoon also specified that the new lucrative flight slots at Heathrow would be “green slots” dedicated to the cleanest and most fuel efficient planes.
The transport minister said: “Taken together this gives us the toughest climate change regime for aviation of any country in the world”.
The need to expand capacity at Heathrow is an imperative. BBC correspondent Ben Wright described the expansion as having “overwhelming slam-dunk economic reasoning.” According to BAA, who own Heathrow, the airport is already stretched and is working at 99 per cent capacity.
In 2007, Heathrow received over 67 million passengers on its current two runways. In the same year, Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport received 60 million passengers operating from four runways.
Frances O’Grady, the Deputy General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) said the expansion would create more jobs in Britain: “Aviation is the key to the UK economy and the unions are committed to supporting the sustainable development of Heathrow”.
Environmental activists from Greenpeace have already devised a scheme to scupper the new plans by acquiring key plots of land near Sipson Village, the proposed site for the new runway.
A statement from Greenpeace said: “As the new owners of the land where the government wants to build the runway, we’ll resist all attempts at compulsory purchase and represent millions of people from across the world at any planning inquiry.”
