The government is to announce a formal consultation on plans for a new Thames Estuary airport in March, according to media reports. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, is backing the plans and says the Estuary airport is vital for Britain’s economy.
Darren Johnson AM said:
"The idea of an airport in the Thames Estuary has many problems, including the environmental impact on the ecologically sensitive estuary, the threat of bird strike, the impact on local communities, and the distance from London that people would have to travel to use the airport.
"The urgent need to reduce emissions and tackle climate change means that we shouldn’t be considering increasing airport capacity in the South East. Instead we should manage demand through better policy making.
The Mayor and Government should work together to end all unnecessary short haul flights. If we were to end unnecessary flights to short haul destinations, space would be freed up for essential long haul flights and there would be no need to build another airport."
