Stansted wants volume-cap removed
London Stansted Airport, which attracted 20 million passengers in 2014, said it will pursue plans to double volumes without the need for a new runway as wrangling over a new landing strip at the capital’s Heathrow hub drags on.
Seeking to expand beyond discount travel, Stansted will lobby for the removal of a cap that limits volumes to 35 million travelers a year, allowing the single runway to reach its full 45-million capacity, Charlie Cornish, chief executive officer at owner Manchester Airports Group, said Friday in an interview.
Even if Heathrow was to get an extra runway by 2026, as recommended this week by a government-appointed commission, southeast England faces a decade without a significant number of new flights both there and at Gatwick, where the sole landing strip is also close to full. Stansted, London’s thirdlargest airport, is best placed to fill the void, said Cornish. Ongoing talks with airlines could secure carriers providing both trans- Atlantic and east-bound long-haul flights next year, he said.
“There’s a short-term need that must be addressed now, at the same time as the Heathrow question and longer-term issues,” the executive said. “We’re bringing in a richer mix of airlines and we need to get that planning cap removed.”
Long-Haul Targets Leading US carriers American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Inc. and United Continental Holdings, Inc. as well as Gulf operators Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways PJSC are a focus of talks, Cornish said. The airport has already opened a premium lounge to cater to an increasing proportion of business fliers with companies such as Ryanair Holdings Plc, for which it’s the biggest base.
Long-haul operations are currently limited to leisure flights offered by Thomas Cook Group Plc and TUI AG’s Thomson, while recent recruit SAS AB is the sole full-service operator.
MAG, which bought Stansted for 1.5 billion pounds ($2.3 billion) in 2013 amid a breakup of Heathrow owner BAA Ltd., will seek Prime Minister David Cameron’s backing for removing the cap. The Airport Commission said in its findings that the ceiling should be re-examined, while ruling out a new runway.
Cameron has said he’ll decide whether to go ahead with a third Heathrow runway by the year’s end, with allies including Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne pressing him to accept the Airport Commission findings despite opposition from fellow Conservatives including London Mayor Boris Johnson.
Rail Links Cornish said the development of Heathrow will take a least 15 years amid continued political wrangling, an extended planning process and an au- dit of whether the proposals will comply with environmental requirements on reduced emissions.
For Stansted to unleash more capacity in the meantime, the government needs to upgrade rail links to the airport, which is served by trains that take 45 minutes from London Liverpool Street, compared with 15 minutes for the Heathrow Express rail service. Minor engineering tweaks could shave 10 minutes off that time, while adding extra tracks would take it below 30 minutes, Cornish said.
With restrictions relaxed, Stansted itself is likely to be full by 2030, when it should once again be considered as a candidate for a new runway, Cornish said -- especially since Davies recommended that Heathrow shouldn’t get a fourth strip. (Bloomberg)