20 October 2011
Ken Livingstone, the former London Mayor and current Labour London Mayoral candidate today debated the coalition government’s aviation policy with the economist, Irwin Stelzer.
On BBC Radio 4’s the ‘Today’ programme, Irwin Stelzer stated that the UK economy is losing out because there are no direct flights to the world’s emerging markets. With Heathrow currently running at capacity, one way to allow for the additional flights would be to temporarily reduce restrictions to flying at night.
This would allow 11 million more passengers to pass through Heathrow every year, Stelzer said.
This temporary reduction at Heathrow would immediately expose Britain to the emerging markets, and the restrictions could be reinstated once a more permanent solution is in place.
There are two more permanent solutions to consider. The first is a new airport, known as ‘Boris Island’, and the second is high-speed transport links between London’s two existing major airports, Gatwick and Heathrow. This is known as ‘Heathwick’.
Ken Livingstone, however, claimed that business flight capacity at Heathrow could be increased without removing restrictions, by simply reducing the number of holiday flights from the airport. Currently, only 40% of flights from Heathrow are business flights, a percentage with huge potential for expansion. This measure would have no effect on the surrounding community, though it would affect tourists, who could be accommodated at London’s other airports or by high-speed rail links to the north and to the continent.
The consultations end today, 20 October 2011.