22.03.13
Heathrow urges Airports Commission to recommend third runway
The UK is already losing connectivity and economic gain from its lack of hub capacity, Heathrow Airport Limited has warned in its submission to the Airports Commission.
Heathrow is already operating at its permitted capacity – over 98% of its annual 480,000 flights a year (or air traffic movements) cap, and DfT forecasts indicate that there will be 11 million unserved passengers by 2020, rising to 28 million by 2030.
The immediate case for a third runway is “very clear”, the airport stated. Heathrow Airport Limited (formerly known as BAA) added that the DfT forecasts “incorrectly assume” that long haul demand would get picked up by other UK airports, which is “highly unlikely” to happen.
The DfT is also underestimating the damaging impact failure to build more capacity is having on UK intercontinental connectivity, with other international markets set to benefit from the country’s lack of capacity.
Heathrow is the location where hub capacity could be delivered quickest, yet 2024 is probably the earliest another runway could be operational due to the current political and planning landscape, the airport added.
In a statement, Heathrow Airport Limited said: “By 2024 the UK’s hub will have been capacity constrained for two decades and a significant proportion of the un-served hub demand will have been lost, either for good, or for the very long term until it can be recaptured.”
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Image c. Heathrow