Airport expansion: Gatwick Airport’s Sir Roy McNulty says Airports Commission’s analysis fell short in a number of important areas

• Gatwick strengths and Heathrow challenges both underplayed
• Gatwick believes these shortcomings have led to a flawed conclusion
• Only expansion at Gatwick can actually be delivered

LONDON, 2015-7-14 — /Travel PR News/ — Chair of the Gatwick Airport Board Sir Roy McNulty today outlined the airport’s response to the Airports Commission’s final report saying the Commission’s analysis fell short in a number of important areas.

Gatwick has released a summary of its response and will engage with every level of Government – including writing to the Prime Minister – to express concern over some of the Airports Commission’s data, analysis and findings which Gatwick believes results in an understatement of both Gatwick’s strengths and Heathrow’s challenges, especially in respect of:

• Traffic: the Commission under-forecasts future traffic at an expanded Gatwick. For example, they forecast that Gatwick will reach passenger volumes of 40million in 2024; the airport will actually reach that level in 2015
• Economic Case: the Commission’s own analysis – based on HM Treasury guidelines – shows relatively modest differences in economic benefit between Heathrow and Gatwick (£33.6 – 54.8billion versus £27.2 – 47.1billion), although the Commission’s conclusion relies heavily on other numbers produced by PwC
• Passenger Benefits: the Commission acknowledges that the majority of new traffic over coming decades will be to European markets but recommends a solution that is almost entirely focused on long haul; it also fails to consider the role that Gatwick could play in the long haul market
• Competition: expanding Gatwick would enhance competition but the Commission recommends increasing market dominance at Heathrow.
• Noise: the huge differential in noise impact between the two airports is largely glossed over; for example, relatively little emphasis is given to the 320,000 people ‘newly affected’ by Heathrow expansion compared to 18,000 at Gatwick
• Air Quality: the Commission largely ignores the fact that Heathrow today breaches legal limits without a third runway; Gatwick would meet targets with a second runway
• Deliverability: the Commission downplays the very considerable delivery risks and financial challenges at Heathrow compared to the Gatwick scheme which is comparatively straightforward.

Chair of the Gatwick Airport Board Sir Roy McNulty said:

“Our view has always been that the assessments on which the Commission’s conclusions are based must be thorough, balanced, fair and well evidenced.

“We believe that the Commission’s report falls short of this standard in a number of very important respects. As a result, the many strengths of Gatwick and the many challenges of Heathrow are underplayed, leading to a conclusion which we believe is flawed.

“The Airports Commission has made its recommendation and it is now for the Government to decide.

“We are confident that when they do make their decision they will choose Gatwick as the best option for the economy and the environment, and – most importantly – after decades of delay the option that is actually deliverable.”

The Airports Commission has also not yet published several key submissions made by Gatwick. Gatwick submitted more than 6,000 pages of evidence to support its case and we have today published key parts of this work that have not yet been made public, including:

• a submission on traffic and competition that underpins Gatwick’s business case for a second runway
• the supporting appendices to Gatwick’s submission to the Airports Commission consultation on air quality
• Gatwick’s contract proposal which is fundamental to Gatwick’s case, and
• two reports investigating the feasibility and deliverability challenges facing the Heathrow plans

Gatwick’s key submissions that the Airports Commission has yet to publish have now been published on theGatwick website today.

A copy of Gatwick’s response to the Airports Commission report can be accessed here.

ENDS

For more information contact:

Gatwick Airport press office

t: + 44 (0) 1293 505000
e: gatwickmedia@gatwickairport.com

About London Gatwick

Gatwick Airport is the UK’s second largest airport and the most efficient single-runway airport in the world. It serves more than 200 destinations in 90 countries for more than 38 million passengers a year on short and long-haul point-to-point services. It is also a major economic driver for the South-East region, generating around 21,000 on-airport jobs and a further 10,000 jobs through related activities. The airport is 28 miles south of London with excellent public transport links, including the Gatwick Express. Gatwick Airport is owned by a group of international investment funds, of which Global Infrastructure Partners is the largest shareholder.

In its December 2013 interim report, the Airports Commission included London Gatwick and Heathrow on its shortlist of potential locations for a new runway in the UK. Expansion at Gatwick will best meet the UK’s aviation needs for the future, can provide the greatest economic boost with the least environmental impact, and a new runway can be operational by 2025. For further information, see: www.gatwickobviously.com

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