Essex: Boris names Stansted Airport as possibility for expansion (From Maldon and Burnham Standard)

Essex: Boris names Stansted Airport as possibility for expansion

11:57am Friday 5th October 2012 in Local News

The mayor of London re-ignited the row over Stansted Airport expansion by claiming it could jump from one runway to four.

On Thursday Boris Johnson declared that the Essex airport could be turned into a 24 hour hub whilst voicing his opposition to expanding Heathrow.

The politician claimed Stansted was one of three long term sustainable options, the other two being models for a Thames Estuary airport.

He said: “You need a hub airport because it is a hub airport than generates the volume of transit passengers that are essential if we want to fill planes to a wide variety of destinations and Heathrow is failing as a hub.”

He claimed to have the backing of all the London assembly in resisting a third Heathrow runway and said Prime Minister David Cameron had already approved funding for studies into the other three options.

Expansion at Stansted Airport was put back on the agenda last month when the Government announced a review into the region’s air capacity.

A commission, led by former Financial Services Authority chief Sir Howard Davies, is expected to report its findings in 2015.

All options in the South East, including a third runway at Heathrow, expansion at Stansted, and the building of a new airport in the Thames Estuary, are to be considered.

Stansted Airport is currently for sale and Ryanair has expressed an interest with chief executive Michael O’Leary leading the case for a second runway.

Stop Stansted Expansion campaigners have called the change in Government policy “deplorable.”

They hope the new study will show Stansted expansion is not a viable option and said three previous independent assessments have proved this.