Following the article published in the previous issue of our (“newsletter”, In the last few years, there have been a number of changes in terms of the problems that have arisen as a result of the extension of runway capacity at UK airports.
As will be recalled, the Davies Commission recommended the construction of the third runway at Heathrow Airport as the most viable of the three options selected. However, since the publication of the commission's findings, Gatwick Airport has campaigned intensively to challenge the results.
According to government sources, the UK prime minister's final decision was due to be published this month. However, due to the growing environmental mobilisation against Heathrow, it was rumoured that the decision would be postponed to next year.
Indeed, as planned, the government announced last week that the decision will be communicated in July 2016, following a thorough investigation by an environmental committee formed specifically to analyse the different options.
The reactions The consequences of this decision have, of course, been considerable. Numerous action groups of business leaders in the UK have expressed their disapproval and there have been many «nasty» voices against Cameron. The latest to voice his opinion has been Willie Walsh, head of International Airlines Group, IAG (owner of British Airways, Iberia, Vueling and Aer Lingus) who has openly threatened to pull out of the UK altogether and move operations to Madrid and Dublin if a decision is not made soon.
The pressure is mounting for David Cameron and his party. It certainly seems to be a case of short-term political strategy to win (or lose) votes, as opposed to long-term strategic planning.
We will keep you updated on developments on this issue which affects, directly or indirectly, much of the air traffic in the UK and Europe. For the time being, the BBC has recently published a series of reports on the controversy surrounding this issue, along with some interesting commentary and analysis.
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-35062739
You can read here the information previously published in our blog on this topic.
