Heathrow pushes for third runway in commission response
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Heathrow Airport has asked the Airports Commission to reconsider parts of the Department for Transport’s (DfT) proposals to increase airport capacity in its submission.
Ruling out that regional airports can pick up traffic and routes from Heathrow, the airport said the Airports Commission needs to focus on the idea of a hub economy and to consider passengers who are on connecting flights.
Two thirds of the airport’s traffic are connecting passengers or on long-haul flights, compared to 12% at Gatwick and 6% at regional airports. Heathrow argued the DfT’s report had shown “clear and immediate demand” for a third runway and warned the Government that waiting until 2024 to add capacity will lose business.
Instead, the airport argued, this will head to other European hubs in Frankfurt, Amsterdam as well as increased competition from Dubai and Istanbul.
“Heathrow is already operating at its permitted capacity. The Department for Transport (DfT) forecasts indicate that by 2020 there will be 11m of un-served passenger demand at Heathrow and 28m by 2030,” its submission read. “More hub capacity is urgently needed and whilst longer term demand forecasts are inherently uncertain, the more immediate demand case for a three runway hub is very clear. The longer term forecasts also show that any potential demand case for a fourth runway is highly uncertain and may not materialise.”
The Airports Commission is to reveal its recommendations into capacity growth by the end of the year. ABTA also recently submitted its response, which suggested more ground connections to airports.