Heathrow ‘needs new runway’ as profits rise
THE boss of Heathrow airport today revealed a jump in sales and passenger numbers, and insisted expansion is vital after plans for a third runway were thrown into doubt.
John Holland-Kaye said:
“Heathrow expansion is not a choice between the economy and the environment — it must deliver for both. In post-Brexit Britain, it will connect our whole country to the global growth markets of tomorrow.”
His comments came in the same week that a public consultation into the planned third runway was reopened following a series of reports published by the Department for Transport, which assessed the impact that expansion would have on noise and air quality.
The consultation on the draft Airports National Policy Statement, which sets out the Government’s support for the Heathrow project, had initially closed in May.
Holland-Kaye today called Heathrow a “critical national asset”.
The airport saw cargo traffic rise 10.5% to 1.25 million tonnes in the nine months to September 30, and passenger numbers rose 3.1% to 59.1 million. It flagged a 2.6% rise in European traffic because of extra flights and larger planes.
Popular destinations included Belgium, Portugal and Denmark.
Revenues were up 3.2% to
£2.1 billion and pre-tax profit increased 13.4% to £229 million. @es_jobourke