London Heathrow Pitches Growth to Counter Demolition Bid

Londons Heathrow airport, facing calls for its demolition, should remain Britains aviation hub and be allowed to build one more runway to add capacity while diminishing the impact of aircraft noise, its owner said.

Heathrow Airport Ltd. will today submit three alternative plans to the state-appointed Davies Commission on U.K. airport capacity, all capable of delivering extra flights by 2025-29 at a cost of no more than 18 billion pounds ($27 billion), making them quicker and cheaper than rival plans, the company said.

Europes busiest aviation hub is fighting for survival after London Mayor Boris Johnson said he favored a four-runway model at the existing Stansted airport or in the Thames estuary, with Heathrow replaced by a new borough housing 250,000 people. That strategy would cost too much, take decades to implement and lead to tens of thousands of job losses, Heathrow said today.

After half a century of vigorous debate but little action, it is clear the U.K. desperately needs a single hub airport with the capacity to provide the links to emerging economies, Chief Executive Colin Matthews said in a statement. The best solution for taxpayers, passengers and business is to build on the strength we already have at Heathrow.

John Holland-Kaye, Heathrows development director, said in an interview that three runways will provide sufficient capacity until 2040 at least, allowing the airport to fend off competition from the Paris Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt (FRA)hubs.

The Board of Airline Representatives in the UK, which represents 80 scheduled airlines in Britain, said Johnsons figures of approaching 70 billion pounds do not stack up well against the Heathrow plans. A survey of U.K. carriers showed 90 percent support for expanding the existing hub, it added.

Britains Institute of Directors said it also favors Heathrow, with the site far easier to get to than others.

Of the three proposals put forward today, Heathrow said its preference is for two westerly options, which would allow a new runway to be built with minimum disruption for the local community from both aircraft noise and demolition of houses.

Both options would lift capacity to 740,000 flights a year from the current limit of 480,000 and cater for 130 million passengers, versus the 70 million handled in 2012, it said.

The westerly proposals envisage the creation of a full-length runway measuring 3,500 meters (11,500 feet).

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London Heathrow Pitches Growth to Counter Demolition Bid