Former Heathrow expansion backer casts doubt on need for third runway

The pandemic-driven reduction in air travel may mean the proposed third runway at Heathrow is no longer needed, according to the head of a government review into airport expansion.

Sir Howard Davies – who recommended the £14bn expansion as part of the Airports Commission report published six years ago – has now emphasised the changing landscape for the sector.

He told LBC Radio that a new runway was not needed “at the moment, quite clearly”.

“Heathrow would be delighted to fill the two runways it’s got just at the moment and it’s nowhere near it,” he added.

When asked if he was still in favour of the project, NatWest Group chair Davies said he “would have to redo the numbers to see if the economics made sense”.

He said that the pandemic had changed working patterns and increased trust in video-conferencing technology, meaning fewer people would now travel for business.

In July 2015, the commission concluded that an additional runway would deliver jobs, make long-haul routes profitable and boost the economy. Theresa May’s government backed the plans in 2018 based on this recommendation, but the planning process that followed has been complex.

The proposals were boosted in December 2020, when the Supreme Court overturned the Court of Appeal’s earlier decision to block the third runway plan.

Despite the court win, the expansion plans remain on ice due to the pandemic and in March NCE revealed that plans to build a £900M western rail link to the airport had been brought to a “controlled pause” by Network Rail.

HAL also announced a £2bn loss for the financial year in February, with passenger numbers down 22M in 2020 compared to the year before.

However last month the airport resumed the purchasing of houses close to the proposed runway.

A third runway is seen as crucial to restore Heathrow’s financial performance in the longer term and Ferrovial, the airport’s biggest shareholder, has hinted that it could sell its stake if it cannot increase its returns.

It would boost the airport’s capacity by 50%, allowing it to handle up to 280,000 extra flights a year. However, it recorded a 72.7% reduction in passenger numbers last year, dropping from 80.9M in 2019 to 22.1M.

A Heathrow spokeswoman said that “demand for aviation will recover from Covid and sufficient hub airport capacity to support a global Britain will be required”.

Source Former Heathrow expansion backer casts doubt on need for third runway | New Civil Engineer

Department of Civil EngineeringDepartment of Civil Engineering – International Burch University (ibu.edu.ba)