Estuary Airport on the verge of being ruled out

The Commission is reported to be on the verge of finally ruling out an Estuary Airport for London, as championed by the Mayor Boris Johnson.

We note that, sensing this, Mr Johnson has subtly changed strategy. In his Telegraph column this morning he has backpedalled on his plan to close Heathrow and now says it can remain open as “an Orly-style airport.” He continues to rule out Gatwick expansion on the basis that it cannot provide the hub capacity Britain needs.

We welcome this change of heart. We believe the logic of Mr Johnson’s new position is that he should now back Heathrow Hub, the only independent proposal short-listed by the Commission. Heathrow Hub envisages extending the existing runway, an innovative noise reduction programme and a transformative surface access plan.

Jock Lowe, the longest serving Concorde pilot and one of the promoters of the Heathrow Hub scheme said: “I hope that our proposal is just the sort of creative idea which should appeal to Mr Johnson. We can deliver the new airport capacity required cost effectively. And by extending the existing runway we bring no new communities in West London into the noise footprint, so ours is now the most politically realistic plan still being considered by Airports Commission. We respectfully ask Mr Johnson to get behind Heathrow Hub in delivering this important project for London and for the nation.”