The standard of facilities at the three main South-East airports is set to decline unavoidably without a major new terminal, airports operator BAA warned today. BAA said Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted were all experiencing “rapid growth”, with the average number of passengers per aircraft also rising.
The company added that the proposed Terminal 5 at Heathrow was essential if quality service at the airport was not to deteriorate. Construction is in process on a range of projects at all three airports and permission is still awaited for Terminal 5 at Heathrow.
BAA chief executive Mike Hodgkinson said: “We are totally committed to continuing to provide the country with the high-quality airports it needs. But we can’t do that without timely planning consent for the investments that need to be made.”
The three airports handled 105m passengers in the last 12 months. Heathrow has now reached over 63m passengers for the 12 months to date, while Gatwick has reached over 31m, and Stansted served nearly 11m.
Hodgkinson added: “We are not talking about a significant increase in the number of flights. Most of the current growth is a result of airlines increasing the percentage of seats sold on their existing flights. Nor are we talking about a new runway in the South East.”
He added that the company was seeking the “most environmentally sustainable solution” to London’s need for quality air links.
Overall, the company announced a record 12.7m passengers in July, an increase of 6.8% on July last year.
The other airports in the group are Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton.
EGi News 14/08/00
