Letter Sent To Department Of Transport And Prime Minister David Cameron

The head of the U.K. Airports Commission, which was charged with recommending which airport in the London area should be expanded to accommodate growth, has sent a letter to the U.K. Department of Transport and Prime Minister David Cameron critical of claims made by Gatwick Airport over noise and air pollution.

In his letter, Airports Commission head Howard Davies (pictured) called calculations released by Gatwick leadership "over-simplistic and nonsense."

"Limited weight should be placed on the suggestion that air quality represents a significant obstacle to expansion," Davies wrote.

Davies said that the assertion by Gatwick authoroties that the commission has downplayed not noise impact of an expanded Heathrow is "nonsense." He said as many as 200,000 people would experience less noise if a new runway is built at Heathrow.

In a news release earlier this month, Alastair McDermid, Airports Commission Director, Gatwick Airport, said “The flaws in the Airports Commission’s final report are fundamental and I urge the Committee to look closely at the evidence before it.  Without correcting these gaps and deficiencies Government will struggle to reach a balanced and responsible decision on which airport to expand.

“As they stand, the key Airports Commission’s proposals to reduce the noise and air quality impacts of Heathrow expansion will not provide acceptable mitigation and i would be surprised if they withstood legal scrutiny.”

Buying Business Travel reports that Gatwick CEO Stewart Wingate said that he was not surprised to hear that Davies was dismissive of their claims. He said that air quality was already poor near Heathrow, and "it is hard to see how millions more car journeys with a third runway will not make it even worse."

Prime Minister David Cameron has promised a decision on which airport will be expanded by the end of the year.

(Image from file)

FMI: Davies Letter