Labour’s London mayor hopefuls debate Heathrow airport expansion June 17, 2015 The six Labour candidates hoping to succeed Boris Johnson as mayor of London have clashed over London airport expansion. Tooting MP and former transport secretary Sadiq Khan set the tone for the debate, following his backing of expansion at Gatwick airport. He defended his opposition to Heathrow's third runway, saying that London's air quality was already [...]
Gatwick airport partners with budget airline WestJet as runway expansion report looms June 16, 2015 Canadian budget airline WestJet has selected Gatwick as its first English destination from Canada, in a boon to the airport’s expansion campaign. WestJet’s wide-body Boeing 767-300 aircraft will begin flying the route next year, with the Canadian airports yet to be determined. WestJet boss Gregg Saretsky said Gatwick is the “ideal airport” for its first [...]
Why we need to expand Gatwick airport and make Heathrow better – not bigger June 16, 2015 The choice over where to build the additional airport capacity London needs will be one of the major challenges facing the next London Mayor. I have no doubt that our economy needs more aviation capacity, but after much thought, I have decided that I cannot support a third runway at Heathrow. The damage it would [...]
More delays: Airports Commission to face courtroom stand-off with angry Teddington residents over pollution review June 15, 2015 The decision over where to build a new runway is about to be put off for even longer, after a group of residents in Teddington (in Heathrow's flight path) applied for a Judicial Review of the work of the Airports Commission. Read more: Businesses slam delay over airports action The Commission, led by Sir Howard [...]
MPs with constituencies near airports could be excluded from runway decision June 11, 2015 MPs whose constituencies are close to Heathrow or Gatwick may be excluded from having any input on the decision over where Britain's next runway is built. The government is under pressure to ban the MPs from a parliamentary group led by Crispin Blunt, Conservative MP for Reigate. The move comes as a final report is [...]
Heathrow or Gatwick runway expansion? Business groups slam delay over airports action June 10, 2015 Politicians must act quickly to implement the recommendations of the Airports Commission or risk being accused of dithering, business groups said yesterday, hitting out at reports that it could be early 2016 before any government action is taken. The commission, overseen by ex-City watchdog Sir Howard Davies, has been looking into the state of [...]
Segro boss David Sleath: Hurry up with Airports Commission decision June 9, 2015 The chief executive of a FTSE 250-listed real estate investment trust (REIT) has written an open letter to the body charged with deciding whether to expand Heathrow or Gatwick, calling for an "end to indecision". Read more: Stop the dithering – Cameron needs to make an early call on airport expansion Segro's David Sleath urged [...]
Stop the dithering: David Cameron needs to make an early call on Heathrow or Gatwick airport expansion May 19, 2015 As MPs arrive in Westminster to take their seats in the House of Commons this week, one of the bigger decisions they will face – and one which I believe must be taken urgently – is the decision to build a new London runway. Having spent almost three years rigorously examining all the evidence, [...]
Easter holidays and rise in emerging market routes boosts Heathrow airport passenger numbers May 11, 2015 Heathrow airport saw passenger numbers rise over the recent Easter getaway period. Last month, the hub had 6.14m passengers pass through it. This is a 1.2 per cent rise over March and April from the same time last year, including the early Easter break. There was also a boost in transfer passengers using the airport, [...]
Gatwick airport traffic levels soar again as report on expansion looms May 10, 2015 Passenger traffic at Gatwick airport rose for the 26th month in a row this April, with 3.2m passengers travelling through the airport last month. The busiest European route from Gatwick remained Barcelona, which saw traffic increase by 0.2 per cent from April 2014, totalling 113,200 passengers. The biggest growth came on the North Atlantic route [...]