London, May 15 (ANI): Heathrow Airport could become a 'local airport' because of the government's aviation policy.
The chief executive of the BAA, which owns Heathrow, Colin Matthews, has said the reduction in the size of the airport will damage London's economy.
According to The Telegraph, though the government has said it will review airport capacity in the South East, a third runway at Heathrow has been ruled out by the coalition.
Matthews said Heathrow was being overtaken by continental rivals, including Frankfurt and Paris.
"We've only got about 15 years, we do need to do something now," he said.
"There is the option of doing nothing. But that simply means that business that should go to the UK will go to Frankfurt, Paris or Amsterdam instead," Mattews added.
Heathrow is also facing competition for traffic from major hubs, such as Dubai, which is set to become the world's largest international airport by 2016.
Senior officials in the aviation industry have urged the government to rethink its policy on Heathrow, including Willie Walsh, the head of the International Airlines Group.
James Hogan, the chief executive of Etihad, which wants to increase its three daily services into the airport to five, said that Heathrow would not be able to compete unless it opens another runway.
The policy has been opposed by all three major parties. Late last year, the government had made it clear that it was looking to increase airport capacity as part of its growth review. (ANI)
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