MPs today called for “immediate action” over Britain’s air capacity crisis as it emerged that passengers flying into Heathrow faced worse delays than at any other major airport in Europe.
The All Party Parliamentary Group on Aviation warned that Britain would be “left behind” if the Government did not increase hub capacity at Heathrow or build a new airport.
It also said that air passenger duty was a “barrier to inward business” and that visa restrictions were “unhelpful” to attempts to boost tourism.
David Cameron today refused to drop his opposition to a Heathrow third runway until at least after the next election despite growing pressure from business leaders and some of his own MPs.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “The Coalition made a pledge not to build a third runway and that is a pledge we will keep.” The statements followed a call by Tory MP Tim Yeo for Mr Cameron to show whether he was a “man or a mouse” by dropping his opposition to the scheme.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg added that the Lib-Dems would block any moves by their Coalition partners to build a third runway.
Their comments came as it emerged that delays for aircraft landing at Heathrow came to 1,676 minutes a day, said Eurocontrol, which supervises air traffic in Europe. Charles de Gaulle — a four-runway hub — was the best-performer, with 641 minutes of delays.
The MPs’ committee, chaired by Labour’s Brian Donohoe, called for an “immediate” short-term solution to Heathrow’s capacity shortage by allowing both runways to be used all day for take-offs and landings, and using RAF Northolt for some short-haul flights.
Its report also criticised tough visa restrictions and said the fact that Britain was not party to Europe’s Schengen agreement — under which foreign tourists need only apply for one visa — was “unhelpful in encouraging tourism to the UK”.
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Colin Stanbridge, chief executive of the London Chamber of Commerce, said: “The current political stalemate is putting London’s position as a global economic leader at risk so we need decisions taken now to ensure we don’t get left behind.”
