New Runway for Heathrow Airport Approved Despite Opposition

Locations in this article:  London, England

Terminal Five HeathrowAmid a contentious opposition campaign that has pitted celebrities, activists and nearby residents of the town of Sipson against the government and business interests, the British Department for Transport approved plans to build a third runway at London’s congested Heathrow airport.

After announcing the decision in Parliament Thursday morning, Transport Minister Geoff Hoon argued that although the new runway would increase noise and air pollution, it was necessary to keep Heathrow competitive with other large European airports and to keep the UK’s economy strong.

“It connects us to the growth markets of the future—essential for every great trading nation,” Hoon said. “Doing nothing would only give an advantage to its competitors. Additional capacity at Heathrow is critical for the country’s long-term economic prosperity.”

Heathrow, which is one of the busiest airports in the world, handles 67 million passengers a year and is currently operating at 99 percent capacity. The government wants a new runway to reduce chronic delays and overcrowding on the two existing runways.

Aviation officials say the opening of Terminal 5 last year did not impact the overcrowding problem because terminals can only ease the passage of people onto the planes and cannot reduce the bottlenecks they face when they queue for takeoff.

Emma ThompsonOpposition groups such as Greenpeace and the No Third Runway Action Group, plus high-profile figures such as actress Emma Thompson and London Mayor Boris Johnson, have vowed to fight the decision and even take legal action to stop it.

Greenpeace has gone so far as to purchase a piece of land on the site of the future runway with the hope that by subdividing and selling smaller plots to hundreds of individual owners they can obstruct progress on the runway plan.

Some of the most vociferous opponents of the plan are the residents of the village of Sipson, which is directly adjacent to the airport. To make way for the new runway the entire village would have to be demolished, including 700 homes and a primary school that was already relocated once when Heathrow was originally built in 1966.

Many opponents of the runway plan, including some members of the ruling Labor Party, think the government should build a high-speed rail network as an alternative, considering that much of the additional capacity the runway will handle will consist of domestic flights. They also argue that rail travel would have less impact in terms of noise and carbon emissions.

Hoon said that Britain will still be able to meet EU air quality requirements even after the third runway is built, and that noise will become less of an issue with improvements in aircraft technology. Many environmentalists dispute the former assertion, while aerospace engineers dispute the latter, saying that noise reductions are unlikely in the near future.

Construction on the new runway is not likely to start for at least five years, assuming that the government successfully overcomes the continued opposition and legal hurdles it faces.

Related links: New York Times, The Guardian, Darren Cronian/Travel-rants.com, CNN

By Karen Elowitt for PeterGreenberg.com.

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