Gatwick second runway willl deliver £40bn benefit to Britain

Sir Roy McNulty, chairman of Gatwick, has branded Heathrow a “politically toxic” monopoly as Britain’s two busiest airports prepare to make their closing arguments in the battle over expansion rights. Both Heathrow and Gatwick will on Tuesday publish their final plans to the Airports Commission, an inquiry led by former Financial Services Authority chairman, Sir Howard Davies, into where best to build the next runway in the South East of England.

Sir Roy, who is a former chairman of Britain’s airports regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority, also casts doubt on the ability to deliver a third runway at Heathrow even if it is selected by the commission due to political sensitivities. Choosing Gatwick will lead to “more vigorous competition” in the market, more flights and lower fares for passengers, the airport chief argues. Gatwick is preparing to publish an impact study, drawn up by consultants at Oxera, which values the economic benefits of choosing its second runway plans over Heathrow expansion at £40bn over the next 60 years.

“Each time Heathrow has been chosen it has faced a political roadblock,” Sir Roy writes. “The reasons for that are very simple but worth restating. Heathrow is in the wrong place for expansion which makes it politically toxic. In the modern age it has not been considered acceptable to have another 270,000 flights a year over a central London flight path - with all the resulting noise and environmental impact - at a time when, today, noise at Heathrow is greater than all European airports combined.”

Gatwick claims it will be in a better position to cater for low cost airlines, the fastest growing segment of the market, than Heathrow, whose customers are predominantly legacy airlines which make use of transfer traffic to fill long and medium-haul flights.

The Airports Commission has short-listed three options: a second runway at Gatwick, Heathrow airport’s own expansion plans, and a maverick idea cooked up by former Concorde pilot Captain William “Jock” Lowe. The Heathrow Hub scheme involves extending the airport’s existing north runway and dividing it in two.

Heathrow Hub will also submit its final plans to the commission, which will include recommendations on how to avoid closing the M25 during the day while a new route for the trunk road is constructed.

Over the weekend, Heathrow launched a charm offensive with local communities, announcing a £550m noise insulation and property compensation fund to placate residents who are concerned over the impact of a third runway. Heathrow is proposing to buy around 750 properties, which will have be demolished if its third runway plans go ahead, at 25pc above their market value and pay for stamp duty and legal costs.

A spokesman for Heathrow last night dismissed Gatwick’s claims that Britain would be better off if the West Sussex airport is allowed to expand to two runways.

The spokesman said: "Heathrow supports competition and choice which is why we are not opposed to a second runway at Gatwick. Gatwick's argument that in future passengers and airlines can have any choice as long as it's Gatwick is the opposite of competition.

"Frontier Economics estimates that removing capacity constraints at Heathrow could cut average ticket prices by £95 today and by £300 in 2030. That price cut for UK passengers and business can only be delivered by expanding Heathrow."

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