3rd Runway Off The Agenda Says BA Boss
HACAN welcomes Willie Walsh’s admission
HACAN, representing residents under the Heathrow flights, has welcomed the recognition by British Airways chief Willie Walsh that a third runway is off the agenda at Heathrow. Walsh also ruled out mixed-mode which he said would make the situation at the airport worse.
Speaking in a debate organized by the Evening Standard in Central London last night Walsh admitted that, while he had supported a third runway, he now recognized that it would not be built. He said that decisions about his business were now being made on that assumption. He cited, for example, that BAA had acquired BMI in order to get more landing slots at Heathrow.
“A third runway probably gets you 20 to 25 years, but not much more,” he told the Standard. “I can’t see where you’d put a fourth Heathrow runway.”
HACAN Chair, John Stewart said: “We applaud Willie Walsh’s honesty. We wait for the rest of the aviation industry to wake up to reality and start to engage in a constructive debate about the future of aviation in the UK.”
When a straw poll was taken at the end of the debate a large majority of the audience voted against a 3rd runway at Heathrow.
June 29, 2012
