Boris sounds death knell to the West London Economy with Thames Airport idea

By proposing a new airport in the Thames east of London, Boris Johnson is saying that he has no interest in supporting the West London Economy, where around 100,000 jobs are dependent on Heathrow, and many business locate here to be accessible to international contacts. Heathrow may be an environmental challenge (to put it mildly - see previous posts) but it is a key driver of our local economy.

The debate around the future of Heathrow is more complex than "Expand or Close", and I hope the Davies Commission addresses these issues so that Heathrow is retained with 2 Runways, no night flights and runway alternation.  To do this Davies will have to address;

• incentivising aircraft to fly full 
• filling the unused capacity at regional airports - currently 40% unused 
• recognising that transfer passenger business (which brings little direct revenue to UK plc) will change as the new fleet of long-distance planes come on stream
• defining Heathrow's role - the majority of its passengers are leisure travellers - would some prefer to travel from their local airport?
• replacing short-haul flights with rail
• forecasting long-term demand should fossil fuel become scarce - meaning investing in a £multi-billion pipe-dream is just mad

Hounslow's residents clearly oppose expansion (72% of those surveyed) but 62% did not want a new hub built if it meant Heathrow would close.   Hounslow Council's will continue to campaign for a Better Not Bigger Heathrow.