Airport capacity at some southeast England airports is underused, according to a London Assembly report on Wednesday.
Even at Heathrow airport, where 99 per cent of capacity is being used, 20 million extra passengers a year could fly if larger aircraft were operated, the report from the assembly’s transport committee says.
Research commissioned by the assembly showed that in summer 2012:
• Around 47 per cent of Stansted airport’s available runway take-off and landing slots were not used;
• Around five per cent of Luton airport’s available slots were not used;
• Twelve per cent of slots at Gatwick airport were available.
To encourage passengers to switch from Heathrow, the report said improving transport access from central London to Gatwick, Luton and Stansted was needed – for example, by better rail connections and actively promoting public transport.
The report said bosses at Stansted reckoned they could attract 1.5 million more passengers per year if the rail journey time from London was reduced from 45 to 30 minutes.
The report also revealed that in 2010, as many as 127 million people used London’s airports and most, including those using Heathrow, flew direct to their destinations rather than use the airports to transfer.
The report said this “may question arguments for the need for an additional hub airport to boost London’s economy”.
The report comes as the Whitehall-appointed Airport Commission continues to consider the whole question of airport capacity, with its initial report due at the end of this year and a final report due in summer 2015.
The assembly’s transport committee chairman, Caroline Pidgeon, said: “Evidence we received shows that the Airport Commission must examine whether better use of existing airport capacity could be an intelligent cost-effective alternative to building new airports or runways.
“The need for additional hub capacity is also under debate, with strong data showing rather than runway capacity limiting airlines ability to fly to emerging markets, it could be low passenger demand from each airport’s geographical area. As 700,000 residents already suffer from noise pollution as a result of Heathrow flights, we also hope that any plans to expand Heathrow can soon be laid to rest.”
She went on: “Currently London sees 130 million passengers travelling through our airports each year. The challenge for the Government and decision-makers is to find the best way to support the UK’s economy globally while ensuring Londoners are not adversely affected by worsening noise and air pollution from planes flying over the capital.”