Ryanair expressed its regret about Sir Howard Davies’ Airports Commission shortlist

MORE POLITICAL FIDDLING, WHILE UK TOURISM BURNS

Shannon, Ireland, 2013-12-17 — /travelprnews.com/ — Ryanair, the UK’s favourite airline today expressed its regret at the shortlist produced by the Davies’ Airport Commission which advocates a potential second runway at Gatwick or two alternatives at Heathrow, but only by 2030, and again by 2050, long after they’ll be of much use to any consumers.

Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said:

“While we welcome the progress made by Sir Howard Davies’ Airports Commission, its shortlist shows that it continues to pander to environmental concerns at the expense of UK air transport, tourism and jobs. Now that London has three competing airports (Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted) the obvious solution is a market based one which allows each of three airports to construct an additional runway as and whenever they wish to, subject obviously to planning permission.

The UK Government doesn’t determine where new hotels or new tourism facilities are developed. This repeated political interference in much needed runway expansion in the South East continues to result in under capacity, excessive pricing and a bad deal for passengers.

Ryanair will continue to work with the Airports Commission, but believes that a market based solution which permits each of the three competing London airports to develop additional runways as and when they wish to do so, is the best way of finally removing the dead-hand of political interference from UK aviation policy and creating the additional runway capacity that is so badly needed if traffic, tourism and job creation is to be restored in the South East of England.”

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