Third Runway at Heathrow to Expand Airport Capacity

The government has today approved a third runway at Heathrow Airport as a means of expanding airport capacity

Ministers approved the decision of expanding Heathrow Airport with a third runway at a cabinet committee meeting earlier today. Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling, who called the decision “truly momentous”, said the expansion would support trade and jobs. However Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson said a third runway was “undeliverable”.

Expanding airport capacity in the South East has been a political possibility for many years, which is why governments have attempted to duck the issue. Although Heathrow has always been the favourite among businesses, it has attracted the most opposition from MPs with constituencies near the airport or under flight paths.

Caroline Ansell, Member of Parliament for Sussex’s own towns of Eastbourne and Willingdon, commented on this recent news: “I am very disappointed the Government has approved expansion at Heathrow and not at Gatwick.

Despite this, I remain convinced Gatwick is more deliverable, more sustainable and more affordable and I will continue to campaign for it to expand while there remains uncertainty over a third runway at Heathrow, given the opposition it faces.

The fact is we need to build airport capacity at pace, especially post-Brexit, and the country needs to get into the habit of future-proofing its infrastructure, not just reacting when the situation is urgent. We need to tell the world we remain open for business and I believe increased capacity at Gatwick will do that.

Finally, I do welcome a government making a decision on such an important issue. For too long this tough choice has been avoided by previous administrations to the detriment of the country.”

We will be looking at this in more detail and discussing the opinions on this deciison in the November issue of Sussex Business Times, so keep your eyes peeled!