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The Airports Commission report backing expansion at Heathrow should have settled the thorny issue of UK capacity but with politicians wavering, doubts persist
A big decision is looming for the UK which will have wider consequences for all of Europe: Whether and where to build a new runway for London.
Despite its unequivocal backing for runway three at London Heathrow, the Airports Commission appears to have failed to put an end to the airport expansion debate in the UK.
Given the lengthy debate and stalled progress in resolving how to tackle runway capacity needs, that will come as little surprise. Even as the commission delivered its final report on 1 July, concluding Heathrow should expand - albeit with a night flight ban and ruling out a fourth runway - Gatwick's chief executive Stewart Wingate refused to concede, insisting the south London airport was still "very much in the race".
No doubt taking heart from the government's ambiguous message it plans to examine the report's conclusions and issue a reaction by the end of the year, Gatwick published a critique of the report, describing its "flawed" methodology and questioning assumptions made by the Howard Davies-led commission. Gatwick has also renewed its campaign to win backing for a second runway.
"We continue to make the case for our second runway because we truly believe it is the best and most deliverable option," chief commercial officer Guy Stephenson tells Airline Business. "Leaving aside the Airports Commission's recommendation, our case is for a faster, cheaper, simpler, cleaner and more deliverable solution to the UK's capacity needs and we believe our scheme not only delivers what the UK needs in terms of future economic development, but also global connectivity. Since the Airports Commission's report was published, we have been maintaining our public profile, through our campaign, but also dissecting what we thought was an incorrect assessment in the Commission's report about the basics of our case.
"For example, when you look at the growth assumptions at the airport, we will actually handle close to 41 million passengers this year. The Commission...