‘Boris island’ airport would cause European flight chaos, say airlines

Shot down: Boris Johnson hopes to build an airport on an island in the Thames Estuary
12 April 2012

The world's leading airlines have condemned Boris Johnson's £40 billion plan for a Thames Estuary airport.

The Mayor hopes to build a six-runway hub on an artificial island off the Kent coast as an alternative to expanding Heathrow.

Michael Carrivick, chief executive of the Board of Airline Representatives UK, said the organisation and its members — including British Airways, Air France, Qantas, Virgin Atlantic and TWA — did not support the scheme.

The group acts for 80 of the 90 airlines using Heathrow.

Mr Johnson has set up a steering group to look into the project, dubbed "Boris Island", which has been dismissed by environmentalists.

Mr Carrivick cited fears that planes landing at a Thames airport would be hit by birds and said moving London's main air hub would see "massive unemployment" around Heathrow, which employs 70,000 staff directly.

He also warned an east London airport would cause travel chaos as passengers from the South-West, Wales and the southern Midlands would have to travel through or around London to reach it.

Mr Carrivick said: "Any airport operating the estuary would severely affect the use of continental airspace which would require, if it was feasible, considerable re-design.

"It would also severely affect the operations of at least one of the existing London airports on the eastern side of the metropolis.

"And it would still require many departing and arriving aircraft to fly over London, so nullifying one of the reasons for building an estuary airport."

His remarks were echoed by Willie Walsh, head of BA, who said: "Closing Heathrow would create a vast wasteland west of London."

Kwasi Kwarteng, prospective Tory MP for Spelthorne, said: "It would blight business in the Staines area and have a devastating effect on house prices as well as the local economy."

The airlines' comments were welcomed by Medway and Kent councils, which are campaigning against the estuary airport, which they see as a "pie in the sky" idea.

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