City News

• Only one in four people think Heathrow’s third runway should be built
• Two thirds of people would travel two hours from London to use another airport
• High speed rail will make half of Londoners consider flying from Birmingham

The public would rather use Birmingham International Airport than a third runway at Heathrow. A survey of 3,000 people in the UK reveals how unpopular Heathrow’s third runway would be, with only one in four people agreeing with the government-approved expansion.

 Instead, two thirds say they would travel two hours to another airport to avoid using Heathrow and half of Londoners say they will consider flying from Birmingham International when a high speed rail link is created. This connection will cut journey times from London to Birmingham International to an estimated 40 minutes (currently about 1 hour 10 minutes).  The airport will eventually be located close to the centre of a high speed rail network that is proposed by all three main political parties.

 Encouraging air passengers to fly from Birmingham, which currently operates at less than 40 per cent of capacity, would relieve pressure on London Airports, would align with Conservative Party plans to shelve Heathrow’s third runway – if they are elected – and delay or remove the need for a new airport in, for example, the Thames Estuary.

 Two thirds of respondents to today’s survey say we should meet demand for flights without building new runways or airports and less than a third of people think there should be more flights to and from the South East.

 The idea of building a new airport in the Thames Estuary is even less popular than Heathrow’s third runway – only one in five respondents approve. The airport would cost about £40 billion, ‘devastate the environment’ according to the RSPB, Medway Council and Kent County Council, and would be located 135 miles from the ‘centroid’ for overall UK passenger demand – the mean average location of all air passengers in the country. This is according to the Thames Estuary Airport Feasibility Review° which also notes that Birmingham airport is just 53 miles from the centroid, closer even than Heathrow (60 miles). Heathrow’s third runway would cost approximately £9 billion. 

 Paul Kehoe, Chief Executive of Birmingham Airport, said:

 “It’s time to take a deep breath and revisit the deeply unpopular plans for a third runway at Heathrow. It has long been said that Heathrow is in the wrong place. We should all consider whether a 1946-configuration airport is the right solution to a 2050s transport problem.

 “The UK has a huge amount of unused airport capacity that the public would prefer to see used first - rather than see new runways or airports being built.

 “Birmingham took this issue on board several years ago when we realised that a second runway here no longer made sense. Rather than press on regardless, Birmingham decided to concentrate on incrementally developing the infrastructure that we already have, and making best use of it.

 “Birmingham could take an extra nine million passengers, using existing infrastructure - and with incremental development we could take around 30 million by 2030.

 “The HS2 high speed rail route would extend Birmingham’s catchment area further into London and the South East, and even Kent would be less than an hour away.
 “Future plans will create further connectivity for all regional airports. For many in London and the South East, it will be quicker to travel to Birmingham airport than to Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted.

 “We have made a very strong case for HS2 to serve Birmingham airport, and the outlook is favourable. A joined-up transport system should incorporate the best elements of road, rail and air, all of which have a part to play.

 “There are also compelling economic arguments for spreading demand across regional airports. Our plans alone could create over 16,000 more jobs in the region. It is equitable that the whole of the UK job market should benefit from the economic activity generated by aviation – not just the overheated South East”.

Watch Paul Kehoe talk on the issue here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mcyvWwmTTU