Each Claims Record Passenger Numbers Indicate It Should Get The New Landing Strip

The debate over which London airport should get a new runway has started to percolate again, with both Heathrow and Gatwick pointing to record passenger numbers as a reason to greenlight expansion.

Buying Business Travel reports that Heathrow's numbers indicated 6.79 million people used the airport in July, which is a new monthly record. Gatwick also reported record passenger numbers, claiming 4.06 million passed through the airport in July, an increase of six percent over July, 2013. New Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kay said that Air China's announcement that it intends to double its routes to Beijing from Hearthrow "represents a vote of confidence for Terminal 2." Meanwhile, Gatwick CFO Nick Dunn pointed to the strength of the Norwegian Airlines schedule as a reason to consider constructing a new runway at that airport.

Both are on the Airport Commission's shortlist for a new runway. That decision is expected to be made in about a year ... after the next general election in the U.K.

According to Buying Business Travel, the Sunday Times newspaper carried a story about a dossier outlining Gatwick's strategy for obtaining a new runway being found on a train. The documents name "key politicians" that will be targeted, as well a civil servants, business leaders, and others who might be able to influence the Airports Commission in favor of a new runway at Gatwick.

(Images from file. Top: Heathrow Airport with third runway. Bottom: Gatwick Airport with second runway)

FMI: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/airports-commission