UK airports need more runway slots

More runway slots are needed at hubs such as Heathrow Airport to combat the rise in fuel prices, claims Mott MacDonald.

According to the Aviation Trends report by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the number of scheduled passengers grew at both London and regional airports, which meant that airlines were wasting fuel waiting around for runway slots at airports.

Laurence Price, director of Aviation Strategy at Mott MacDonald, said: "Where we need additional infrastructure is for runway slots, so we can get aircraft in the air and out of the air on arrival, instead of standing around waiting for slots which is wasting fuel and wasting resources."

Mr Price warns that incidents such as the Zoom airline fiasco may be repeated if moves are not made to address the current situation.

"The sustained operation of airlines - when oil is taking up 40 per cent of the total cost - will just be incredibly difficult," he said.

According to the Sustainable Aviation report by the Airport Operators Association, aviation makes a £14 billion value added contribution to the UK economy, supporting 675,000 jobs with £13 billion of exports.

Posted by Graham Greenaway on the 09/09/2008 16:32:27
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