On 27 February 2020, the Court of Appeal blocked a proposal for a third north-west runway for London Heathrow Airport on environmental grounds. Objections to the proposal, as outlined in the Department of Transport’s Airports National Policy Statement of 2018, had been put forward by a coalition of environmental campaigning groups (Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Plan B), local borough councils (Hillingdon, Richmond, Wandsworth, and Windsor and Maidenhead Councils), and the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. The Appeal Court judges deemed that the government had ignored the impact of such factors as air quality, noise pollution and traffic congestion while outlining its proposals, thereby failing to meet its commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement of 2016. Despite this judgement, Lord Justice Lindblom also stated that a new runway had not been categorically ruled out as a result. Furthermore, it seems likely that Heathrow Airports Ltd, which is owned by a consortium led by Spanish construction giant Ferrovial, will appeal against the decision at the Supreme Court.
Heathrow is currently the only hub airport in the UK, serving as a major hub for both passenger and freight traffic. It is also one of the busiest international airports. Currently, flights from Heathrow serve 185 destinations in 84 countries. As is so often the case, ever-increasing demand has led to a massive increase in air traffic over the years. Ever since the airport first opened to commercial flights, on May 31 1946, expansion at Heathrow has proceeded at a steady pace, along with the continuous upgrading of air traffic facilities and the development of an integrated transport hub.
Heathrow has undergone many upgrades of infrastructure over the decades following its relatively modest beginnings. The first permanent passenger terminal (renamed Terminal 2 in 1968) opened in the Europa Building in 1955 and was followed in 1961 by the Oceanic Building, which became Terminal 3 in 1968. Terminal 1 opened in 1968, and was then followed by Terminals 4 in 1986 and 5 in 2008. Terminal 1 subsequently closed in 2015, while the second stage of expansion of Terminal 2 led to The Queen’s Terminal, which opened in 2014. Currently, apart from the four passenger terminals (2,3,4 and 5) and a cargo terminal, Heathrow also provides a VIP lounge, used by royalty, visiting heads of state and assorted celebrities, which separates the famous and the wealthy from less fortunate members of the general public.
Heathrow has simultaneously developed into a major surface transport hub. In 1977, with the opening of the Piccadilly Line extension, Heathrow became the first airport in the world to offer a rapid rail link to a city centre. This was boosted by the Heathrow Express, a 15-minute non-stop express rail link from Paddington Station, which opened in 1998. Heathrow also has one of the busiest bus and coach stations in the UK, and will further benefit from the imminent opening of the Elizabeth Line (Crossrail).
All aircraft arriving at, and departing from, Heathrow currently make use of two parallel north and south runways, which run east-to-west, coupled with eighteen miles of taxiways. These runways handle a total of around 1,400 take-offs and landings per day. However, there is a strong desire within some circles to eventually cater for an annual capacity of 142 million passengers, with the proposed third runway projected to attract an extra 25,000 flights a year.
Demands for an expanded hub airport, designed to maintain global connectivity and competitiveness, have thus been frequently expressed in recent years. Fears have been expressed that other important hub airports, such as Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, might eventually overtake Heathrow, thereby reducing the global status of a post-Brexit UK and adversely affecting the British economy. Official support for Heathrow expansion thus featured in a Department of Transport White Paper, ‘The Future of Air Transport’, which was published by a Labour government in 2003. The case was made for a third runway at Heathrow, as part of meeting an urgent need for additional runway capacity in the South East of England. Since then, the issue of this third runway has frequently featured in public discourse and political debate.
As is to be expected, commercial and environmental interests come into direct conflict with each other, either supporting or rejecting a third runway, respectively. If the planned runway was to be eventually approved, prolonged and significant disruption is to be expected. Construction of a third runway will involve major alterations to busy adjacent roads (the M25 motorway, the A4 dual carriageway, and the A3044), the rerouting of rivers to the north of the airfield (Colne and Wraysbury rivers; Begley Ditch), and the development of massive car parks. The villages of Harmondsworth, Sipson and Stanwell Moor seemed destined to be obliterated in the process, buried for ever under the several new developments.
In part-mitigation, Heathrow Airports Ltd has come up with plans to create low-emission zones in the vicinity and to introduce a Heathrow Vehicle Access Charge-a form of congestion charge-in order to reduce local air pollution. Furthermore, local residents are being promised financial compensation for loss of property. Those having to live in close proximity to the new runway will supposedly be protected from noise pollution by being funded for sound-proof home insulation, as well as through a six-and-a-half-hour ban on scheduled night flights.
The third runway at Heathrow is proving to be a test of the current British government’s environmental credentials. Given the imperative to continuously reduce the nation’s carbon emissions in the lead up to 2050, Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, has confirmed that the government will not actively contest the Court of Appeal judgement. This particular decision is not unexpected, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the MP for a local constituency (Uxbridge and South Ruislip), has opposed the proposed third runway for several years. The court has, on this occasion, reinforced the important message that air traffic cannot be increased without consideration for the inevitable environmental impacts.
Ashis Banerjee (located twenty miles from Heathrow)