THE UK's Freight Transport Association (FTA) is calling on the government to push ahead with the expansion of London Heathrow airport that involves building a third runway
THE UK's Freight Transport Association (FTA) is calling on the government to push ahead with the expansion of London Heathrow airport that involves building a third runway. The FTA said that an expanded Heathrow is vital to support the UK's global trading ambitions post-Brexit and added that it is positive about the contents of Heathrow Airport Limited's expansion consultation, which closed on September 13, reported London's Air Cargo News.
FTA multimodal policy head Alex Veitch said: 'FTA was thrilled by the government's decision to expand Heathrow airport because of the opportunity it will offer to develop the UK's trading base; air freight growth has stalled in recent years due to capacity constraints, while a third runway is vital for Britain to achieve its global trading aspirations, especially after the UK leaves the EU.
'The Airport Expansion Consultation lays out a comprehensive airport growth strategy which supports and expands the nation's trading opportunities: FTA is urging the Department for Transport (DfT) to support Heathrow Limited's ambition so it can press ahead with construction.
'Heathrow's proposals for the night-time operation of the third runway reflect the legal requirement for reduced services. We will work with the government and industry to make sure the proposed operations are workable; the plans must strike a fair compromise between the needs of UK businesses, consumers and local residents.'
The plans also include an ultra-low emissions zone around the airport. However, freight vehicles are not included in the scheme.
FTA's head of urban policy Natalie Chapman said: 'While we support the urgent need to improve air quality, Heathrow airport is right to exclude freight vehicles from the scheme: environmentally friendly HGVs (heavy goods vehicles) and vans are already flooding the market and HGVs will be subject to a tightening of the London-wide Low Emission Zone from next year.'
Meanwhile, in its submission to the Civil Aviation Authority (C), IAG, which own British Airways, said it has 'absolutely no confidence in Heathrows ability to deliver cost-effective expansion.'
It said that initial construction and planning costs, originally forecast at GBP915 million (US$1.137 billion), have skyrocketed by 250 per cent in two years.
IAG chief executive Willie Walsh said: 'Advance costs are spiralling out of control and total expansion costs are being covered up. This latest development proves beyond doubt that Heathrow can't be trusted.
'The airport's chief executive thinks expansion is a 'fait accompli' but with judicial, environmental and political hurdles ahead, there's no guarantee. Spending GBP3.3 billion before receiving planning permission is irresponsible and it's completely unacceptable to expect passengers to pick up the tab.
'Heathrow's on a massive gravy train and will do everything to protect that. We have absolutely no confidence in its ability to deliver cost-effective expansion.
'The total bill for expansion is already running at GBP32 billion and yet they are trying to deceive everyone by continuing to claim that it can be done for GBP14 billion.'
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