Heathrow expansion: Manchester has its say

MANCHESTER Airport managing director Ken O’Toole has reiterated that Heathrow is not the only show in town after the Airports Commission’s final report backed its plan for a third runway.

As the release of the report reignited an intense debate over the runway’s environmental impact, O’Tooole weighed in by saying: “Aviation policy must address the need for the UK to develop a strong network of competing airports, and ensure that best use is made of capacity available at Manchester in the period before any runway can be delivered – something that will take 15 years or more.  

“In recent years Manchester Airport has gone through a period of significant growth and this year reached an all-time record for passenger numbers.

“Our location in the North West, together with exceptional road and rail connectivity, means customers of Manchester Airport are drawn from as far North as Scotland and South to the Midlands.

“We have more routes than any other UK airport and a network of long haul destinations such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Miami and Los Angeles that are not accessible from anywhere else in the UK outside of London.”

The Airports Commission says a third runway at Heathrow will add £147bn in economic growth and 70,000 jobs by 2050.

However, London’s Mayor Boris Johnson told the BBC that a new runway would have a “catastrophic” effect.

Sir Howard Davies’s report said that the new runway should come with severe restrictions to reduce the environmental and noise effects.

Meanwhile, Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce policy and marketing director Chris Fletcher said the organisation welcomed the findings of the Airport Commission.

“It is important that government now moves quickly to make a final decision on this for the economic benefit of the UK,” he said. “This whole issue has been delayed for far too long and ducking decisions in the past has meant we are in the position we find ourselves today.

“Coming on the back of recent announcements about huge investment at Manchester Airport and increasingly positive noises about HS2 it is crucial that this now begins to form part of a truly joined up national infrastructure and transport strategy.”

Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) has also welcomed the news saying it has recognised Heathrow Airport’s expansion plans as the best proposal for the country.

Liverpool, which unlike Manchester was a supporter of the Heathrow expansion, says it needs to access global connectivity to better meet the needs of the region it serves, however capacity constraints in the South East have meant that the opportunity to re-establish regular flights to the UK’s hub airport has simply not existed for some time.

An expanded Heathrow would offer the opportunity for UK airports such as Liverpool, to further grow their networks, something that is crucial for generating growth across the whole country, not just London and the south east.

Chief executive of LJLA Andrew Cornish said: “Liverpool John Lennon Airport urges the Government to give the go ahead of this important expansion of Heathrow so that regional airports such as Liverpool can soon benefit too by the opening up of access to the UK’s hub airport for improved worldwide connectivity.”

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