Demand Over The Next 30 Years Will Outpace Capacity, According To Sarah Bishop

A third runway at Heathrow Airport will only put a temporary dent in the growing passenger demand over the next 30 years, according to a U.K. Department for Transport official.

Buying Business Travel reports that Sarah Bishop, deputy director of aviation policy at the Department for Transport said during a meeting of the Westminster energy, environment and transport forum that passenger estimates for the U.K. made just three years ago are "already out of date" and that demand for air travel is growing at about 10 percent faster than those estimates.

Bishop said that even with a third runway at Heathrow, the U.K. will face "capacity constraints" as soon as 2050.

IATA predicts there will be 8.2 billion air travelers in the U.K. in 2037, and the growth will continue.

Bishop said that the U.K. government is preparing an Aviation Strategy Green Paper, which will consult on further runway construction by 2050. A fourth runway at Heathrow has already been ruled out. Gatwick recently presented a proposal to use its existing emergency runway as a second runway to help boost capacity there, but both airports continue to face opposition from local activists and environmental groups.

(Image from file)

FMI: Source report