London Mayor Boris Johnson on Friday defended his proposal for a new hub airport in the Thames Estuary east of London, after an influential House of Commons committee said the idea should be ditched in favour of a third runway at Heathrow. In a report published on Friday, the Commons Transport Committee said that the "Boris Island" option would be hugely expensive, could harm estuary wildlife and would also mean the closure of Heathrow.
Boris has defended his Estuary proposal
Instead, the MPs said that an extra runway at Heathrow was necessary and also suggested that a fourth might have merit if the two new runways were located to the west of the current site. The current two-runway airport was "not adequate for the needs of the UK" and expansion of Heathrow was "long overdue", they said. But Johnson said that a third runway would be "obsolete" by the time it was built, and that Friday's report made plain that advocates of this solution were effectively calling for a four-runway Heathrow, which he said would be "environmentally and politically undeliverable".
Committee chair Louise Ellman said: "We recognise that demand for air travel across the UK is forecast to grow, believe that aviation should be permitted to expand and accept that more capacity is necessary to accommodate sustainable aviation growth. We looked closely at the three main options by which the UK could increase its hub airport capacity. Research we commissioned made plain that building an entirely new hub airport east of London could not be done without huge public investment in new ground transport infrastructure.
She added: "Evidence to our inquiry also showed a substantial potential impact on wildlife habitat in the Thames Estuary. The viability of an estuary hub airport would also require the closure of Heathrow - a course of action that would have unacceptable consequences for individuals, businesses in the vicinity of the existing airport and the local economy. Heathrow - the UK's only hub airport - has been short of capacity for a decade and is currently operating at full capacity. We conclude that a third runway at Heathrow is necessary, but also suggest that a four-runway proposal may have merit, especially if expanding to locate two new runways westwards from the current site could curb the noise experienced by people affected under the flight path."
The committee said adding new runways to expand other existing airports was not a long-term solution to London's hub airport capacity problem, although MPs urged the operators of Gatwick to develop a robust business case for their vision of a second runway at the West Sussex airport. The report, published as the Davies Commission continues its investigation into airport capacity in the south-east, also called on the Government to establish a national scheme to ensure adequate compensation for people affected by noise from expansion at Heathrow.
But Johnson said that more runways at Heathrow would inflict environmental harm on Londoners living around the airport, while the cost of a fourth runway was "unquantifiable" and relocating runways to the west of the airport's current location would require a "colossal" amount of new transport infrastructure. "It would probably be cheaper to move London slightly to the east," he joked.
The Mayor told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The crucial thing is that the third runway, even if it were to be built by 2028, would be immediately obsolete, because there would be overwhelming demand, as Louise and the committee in this report rightly prefigure. There would be overwhelming demand for a fourth runway. The cost of that whole project is completely unquantifiable. Nobody knows how much it would cost. The environmental damage to London is very, very considerable."
Johnson insisted that the estuary airport was "a long-term solution" to London's aviation needs and the environmental impact on birds in the area could be "mitigated". "The trouble with a third runway is it just compounds the mistake," he said. "What the Transport Select Committee have revealed in their call for a four-runway hub airport is that the Heathrow-ites are really intending to build a four-runway airport in the west of London, which in my view would be environmentally and politically undeliverable."
Friday's report also urged the Government to ensure that the planned HS2 high-speed rail line rail network serves Heathrow. And the MPs called for a study of how far the Air Passenger Duty airport departure tax impacts on the UK economy, warning that the levy should be significantly reduced or abolished if this study provides clear evidence that it is harming the economy or Government revenues.
The Commons committee said the Estuary idea should be ditched in favour of a third runway
An APD "tax holiday" should be introduced for a 12-month trial period for new services operating from airports outside south-east England, they argued. The MPs' report said it was "immensely disappointing" that a decade after the publication of the 2003 aviation white paper and the previous Labour government's decision to support a third runway at Heathrow, the UK was still faced with an unresolved problem of aviation capacity.
"Following decades of policy papers, inquiries, taskforces, and commissions, it is the lack of a long-term cross-party political strategy for aviation that is principally to blame for the very real danger that the UK could lose its status as an international hub for aviation," said the committee. "The current situation is unsustainable. A two-runway hub airport (Heathrow) is not adequate for the needs of the UK. We have considered the options put to us and on the basis of the evidence we have heard we recommend that the Government allow Heathrow to expand. Heathrow is the jewel in the crown of international aviation and we believe that a third runway is long overdue. British businesses are overwhelmingly in favour of this option."
The report said it was "less than ideal" that the Airports Commission inquiry, chaired by Sir Howard Davies, was working to "a protracted timetable, with a final report not to be produced until after the 2015 general election". The committee continued: "We could complain that this is yet another example of important decisions on aviation being kicked into the long grass, but instead we challenge the Commission to use this opportunity to, once and for all, provide a robust and independent evidence base for future decisions. It is our hope that the Commission will produce an evidence base that is widely accepted across the political spectrum, and clear recommendations for action. The challenge for the post-2015 Government will be to quickly get to grips with the recommendations of the Commission and not seek excuses for further delay."
Shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle said: "The lack of consensus on airport capacity in London and south-east England is precisely why Labour first proposed the independent Airports Commission. Since David Cameron has asked Sir Howard Davies not to deliver his final report until 2015, it will be for the next government to decide on the way forward. In the meantime, it is right to allow the Commission to consider all the arguments and evidence presented to it without the political parties pre-empting its conclusions and recommendations."
A Department for Transport spokesman said: "This Government is determined to find a lasting solution to maintain the UK's global aviation hub status. The strength and range of opinions expressed on the issue shows precisely why we are right to ask Sir Howard Davies to conduct a detailed, independent review of all the options, based on the most up-to-date information."
He went on: "Previous attempts to tackle the question of airport capacity have failed, often due to a lack of consensus on the evidence. Our approach is to build a strong political consensus so we can plan for the future."
The MPs also said that the Government should introduce an APD "tax holiday" for a 12-month trial period for new services operating from airports outside south east England. The report comes as former CBI chief Sir Howard Davies and his team on the Whitehall-appointed Airports Commission continue their investigation into airport capacity. The commission is due to present an initial report by the end of this year and a final report in summer 2015.
Launching the House of Commons Transport Committee report on Friday, the committee's chairman, Louise Ellman (Lab, Liverpool Riverside) said: "Aviation is vital to our economy and it is essential for the UK to maintain its status with an international aviation hub offering connectivity to a wide range of destinations across the globe. We recognise that demand for air travel across the UK is forecast to grow, believe that aviation should be permitted to expand and accept that more capacity is necessary to accommodate sustainable aviation growth."
The Mayor proposed building the new airport in the Thames Estuary
She went on: "We looked closely at the three main options by which the UK could increase its hub airport capacity. Research we commissioned made plain that building an entirely new hub airport east of London could not be done without huge public investment in new ground transport infrastructure. Evidence to our inquiry also showed a substantial potential impact on wildlife habitat in the Thames Estuary."
Ellman continued: "The viability of an estuary hub airport would also require the closure of Heathrow - a course of action that would have unacceptable consequences for individuals, businesses in the vicinity of the existing airport and the local economy. Heathrow - the UK's only hub airport - has been short of capacity for a decade and is currently operating at full capacity. We conclude that a third runway at Heathrow is necessary, but also suggest that a four-runway proposal may have merit, especially if expanding to locate two new runways westwards from the current site could curb the noise experienced by people affected under the flight path. We conclude that adding new runways to expand a number of other existing airports will not, on its own, provide a long-term solution to the hub capacity problem. We do however encourage Gatwick's operator to develop a robust business case for their vision of a second runway. We reject the notion of linking existing airports by high-speed rail to form a split-hub. The outcome from this would be highly uncompetitive in terms of passenger transfer times compared to competitor hubs overseas."
The MPs' report said: "It is immensely disappointing that a decade after the publication of the 2003 (aviation) White Paper and the then Government's decision to support a third runway at Heathrow, the UK is still faced with the unresolved problem of aviation capacity. Following decades of policy papers, inquiries, taskforces, and commissions, it is the lack of a long-term cross-party political strategy for aviation that is principally to blame for the very real danger that the UK could lose its status as an international hub for aviation."
The committee went on: "The current situation is unsustainable. A two-runway hub airport (Heathrow) is not adequate for the needs of the UK. We have considered the options put to us and on the basis of the evidence we have heard we recommend that the Government allow Heathrow to expand. Heathrow is the jewel in the crown of international aviation and we believe that a third runway is long overdue. British businesses are overwhelmingly in favour of this option."
The report said it was "less than ideal" that the Airports Commission was working to "a protracted timetable, with a final report not to be produced until after the 2015 general election". The committee continued: "We could complain that this is yet another example of important decisions on aviation being kicked into the long grass, but instead we challenge the Commission to use this opportunity to, once and for all, provide a robust and independent evidence base for future decisions. It is our hope that the Commission will produce an evidence base that is widely accepted across the political spectrum, and clear recommendations for action. The challenge for the post-2015 Government will be to quickly get to grips with the recommendations of the Commission and not seek excuses for further delay."
Commenting on the MPs' report, shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle said: "The lack of consensus on airport capacity in London and south east England is precisely why Labour first proposed the independent Airports Commission. Since David Cameron has asked Sir Howard Davies not to deliver his final report until 2015, it will be for the next government to decide on the way forward. In the meantime, it is right to allow the Commission to consider all the arguments and evidence presented to it without the political parties pre-empting its conclusions and recommendations."
Councillor Rodney Chambers, leader of Medway Council in Kent, said: "This confirms what we've always known, and have campaigned loudly about - that the Thames Estuary airport is a non-starter."
A Department for Transport spokesman said: "This Government is determined to find a lasting solution to maintain the UK's global aviation hub status. The strength and range of opinions expressed on the issue shows precisely why we are right to ask Sir Howard Davies to conduct a detailed, independent review of all the options, based on the most up-to-date information." He went on: "Previous attempts to tackle the question of airport capacity have failed, often due to a lack of consensus on the evidence. Our approach is to build a strong political consensus so we can plan for the future."
The Institute of Directors said the committee had produced "a range of hugely positive recommendations on the future of air travel in the UK", and that expansion at Heathrow was "by far the best option". Virgin Atlantic said the report was "a breath of fresh air", while the British Air Transport Association said the MPs had introduced "refreshingly pragmatic and straight-forward cross-party thinking".
The Institution of Civil Engineers questioned whether Heathrow could accommodate four runways and said if it could not then an alternative south east England airport should be developed quickly. The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry strongly agreed with Heathrow expansion.
Labour MP John McDonnell MP, whose Hayes and Harlington constituency includes Heathrow, said: "The real decision over Heathrow expansion will be at the next election based upon the Davies Commission. The Airport Operators Association said the UK "needs both vibrant point-to-point airports and world-class hub capacity, and all airports which want to expand should be allowed to do so."