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Someone Somewhere · September 2nd 14, 10:50 AM posted to uk.transport.london

On 02/09/2014 11:40, d wrote:
On Tue, 02 Sep 2014 02:36:55 -0500
Recliner wrote:
Roland Perry wrote:
Having lived through the "Third airport" debacle, where unless I'm very
much mistaken the result was expanding the biggest existing shortlisted
airport (and rejecting otherwise preferred but more expensive builds), I
wouldn't be surprised to see Gatwick being chosen for the "next new runway".

By that logic, surely Heathrow would be chosen? All the logic favours a
third Heathrow runway as first choice, with a second Gatwick runway the
next expansion option a few years later.

Logic actually favours no expansion at all.
By this you mean your logic or the logic you're minded to believe in?

The much quoted hub airport
will do nothing for UK Plc other than put more money into the pockets of
the airport owners and will be an enviromental disaster wherever its located.
The hub part is one argument, but it can clearly be argued that
expansion to even handle the current number of flights is necessary to
prevent stacking or horrendous problems caused by the smallest of issues
due to lack of over-capacity.

I await the response that if you build more capacity it will fill up,
and you hear the same argument about road building. Strangely, it's
rarely used when it comes to railways. But in any case if people feel
so strongly about such things they should examine their overall
travelling habits - but then they couldn't have their big house in the
leafy suburbs....

I'd also argue that the word "disaster" is hyperbole in this case
-unless of course any large infrastructure project comes under the same
heading.

If we see air travel as a necessity, even if that is an evil necessity,
then logic would dictate that you need a single airport that is easy
and quick to get to from all parts of the area it serves to use the
capacity as efficiently as possible - I haven't looked at the schedules
but I can well believe every London airport has several flights a day to
particular european destinations that could easily be consolidated into
less "movements" in larger, more efficient, planes if that were the case.