could be reconsidered. The city’s large cluster of maritime businesses, the university and the Tamar Science Park all have ambitions that would benefit from easier international access.” Colvile admits that it could take years for the airport to reopen, but a re-appraisal does have the backing of Chancellor George Osborne and Transport Minister Patrick McLoughlin; and 35,000 local residents have signed a petition backing the reopening.
AND THE WINNER IS... On July 6, Sir Howard Davies is sched- uled to make a speech at an aviation conference in London. According to sources, it will likely be the first time he will have spoken publicly about the Air- ports Commission’s findings into airport expansion in south-east England. By the time this copy of BBT reaches you, we may already have learned the results. As things stand, Davies will either recom- mend a third runway at Heathrow or a second at Gatwick. The vast majority of the business community, includ- ing the British Chambers of Commerce, sup- ports the third runway at
Heathrow, though in an ideal world most believe both runways are neces- sary as an absolute minimum. ATPI’s Ramsey says: “We need more runways at Heathrow, Gatwick and an airport in the Thames Estuary. We must beef up our regional airports. If that doesn’t happen Frankfurt, Schiphol and Paris will get the traffic.” The chief executive of International Airlines Group (IAG), Willie Walsh, says he doesn’t think anything will change because politicians lack courage and conviction. He may be right. The challenge facing the Conservatives is that senior members of the party are quite literally polls apart on this issue, according to Westminster lobbyist and BBT columnist Gareth Morgan. “Both the prime minister and chancellor support a third runway,” he says. “But Justine Greening, Philip Hammond, Boris Johnson and Zac Goldsmith are all opponents.” Boris says he’ll lie down in front of the diggers if they try to start building, while Goldsmith – who is also in the running to be the Tory candidate for London mayor – has already said he would resign. In May, Davies also granted campaigners more time to provide evidence that expansion would damage air quality in and around the airport sites. Some saw this as an indication that Gatwick may end up being the preferred choice of the commission. However, as one Westminster source told BBT: “Not even the PM knows what Davies is thinking, so it’s pointless to speculate.” It is said strong governments make big decisions early in the new parlia- ment. There is a lot riding on the future of corporate travel and the health of the UK economy. Whether politicians are truly aware of it or not, the UK is in danger of falling far behind its global competitors. The GTMC’s Wait sums it up:
“High-speed rail, airport expansion, better roads: they’re all no-brainers. We need to address each of these issues. There is a need for us as a nation to trade with the emerging markets. There just isn’t enough of that going on at present.”
BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM
David Lammy
A view from the House
London mayoral candidate David Lammy, Labour MP for Tottenham
I INITIALLY SUPPORTED EXPANSION AT STANSTED, maybe because I live in the north east [of London]. I thought there was room to expand there. We need more capacity – and we have to act on it and not kick it into the long grass, like we have been doing. Clearly, you will not reach a solution unless the public has confidence in the noise and pollution issue. They don’t at the moment, so it’s going to need some new powerful regulator that gives people the confidence that airlines and airports are behaving sensibly. ‘Boris Island’ was the biggest load of hogwash. It would have cost the taxpayer billions of pounds. Never mind that the most successful bit of the London economy is around Heathrow and beyond, into the west London corridor. Why would you dismantle
Heathrow and screw up the west London economy to move to an airport that the taxpayer has to fund? Boris is good at ideas that get him a fanfare but are never going to come to fruition.
BBT JULY/AUGUST 2015 49
Photo: News Pictures/REX/Shutterstock
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