The hottest topic in UK aviation at the moment is without doubt the head to head battle currently underway between the country’s two main airports, Heathrow and Gatwick.
There is still a very long way to go, the government is facing opposition and indecision within its own party.
In July this year, after three years of deliberation, the Davies Commission on airport expansion in the UK released its recommendations in its final report (to read this report click here).
For those of you that aren’t aware of the situation, in September 2012, the British Government established an independent commission, chaired by Sir Howard Davies, to advise on how the UK should act regarding the expansion of its current runway capacity.
After a first round of campaigning, there were three possible options shortlisted and in the final report released this summer, the decision by Sir Howard Davies and his team was to back the construction of a new third runway at Heathrow.
So, what is the commission’s preferred option?
The proposal backed by Sir Howard Davies involves building a new 3,500m runway around 3km to the north of the existing two runways, with an estimated cost of 18.6bn GBP. The other two proposals included the extension of one of the existing runways at Heathrow and also a new runway at Gatwick.
The argument in favour of backing this option was that the Heathrow scheme would reportedly create the most jobs and make the most money for the country as a whole. It was seen as the best short-term option to help maintain Britain’s level of competitiveness with its strongest European rivals such as Paris Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Schiphol.
Fierce competition
Since the outset, the rivalry between Heathrow and Gatwick has been intense, with both airports mounting huge marketing campaigns in support of their different options.
The Heathrow campaign has been centred on the advantages for Britain as a whole, with the slogan being “Taking Britain Further”, while Gatwick has taken a more direct approach with its campaign entitled “Gatwick Obviously”.
http://www.gatwickobviously.com/
http://your.heathrow.com/takingbritainfurther/
Both airports have released images of how their proposed options would look with in-depth information available on the pros of their own options and, obviously, the cons of the other!
More recently things have taken a slightly cut-throat turn, with Gatwick increasing pressure on the commission findings with a number of strong arguments against the Heathrow option, the main one being against the current and future air quality of Heathrow. Last week the Transport Secretary reportedly mentioned air quality as an “incredibly important” factor to be taken into account during the decision, so perhaps Gatwick may have been thrown a lifeline here?
British Airways also helped Gatwick’s cause by making a number of cutting statements against the proposal, declaring the project as “unjustifiable”. A surprising turn of events considering Heathrow has been the long-time hub airport for this airline.
Heathrow on the other hand seems to have taken a more confident approach, so much so that it has already launched a call for expressions of interest for consultancy firms to be shortlisted to provide their services for the third runway project. A Heathrow spokesman said on the issue: “We need to be prepared to kick-start expanding Heathrow as soon as the Government gives a green light – if they give a green light – so this expression of interest work will help us bulk up on some core competencies ahead of a decision from Government.” Quietly confident it seems?
What happens next?
There is still a very, very long way to go yet. We must remember that the Davies report is nothing more than a recommendation, and the more the Gatwick campaign begins to heat up, the longer the final decision may take. The government is facing opposition and indecision within its own party, something which will surely need to be ironed out before any type of decision can be taken.
The next step will most likely be a consultation launched by the government itself, more than likely over a few weeks, to hedge against legal challenges. However it seems highly unlikely that the UK will see a new runway opening for at least another decade.
In the meantime, the Heathrow v Gatwick marketing campaigns will undoubtedly keep on making as much noise as possible.
