Obstacles pile up for Birmingham Airport runway extension
Birmingham International Airport’s campaign to market itself as Heathrow’s third runway could turn into a money-spinner, but only if legal difficulties can be resolved, argues Public Affairs Correspondent Paul Dale.
On the face of it, a High Court decision halting plans for a third Heathrow runway could hardly have come at a better time for Birmingham International Airport.
Bosses at BIA have long been marketing Birmingham as a credible alternative to overcrowded, difficult to reach, Heathrow and Gatwick.
But if Heathrow doesn’t get its third runway – and the Conservatives have already promised to scrap the scheme if they win the General Election – could the planned £120 million extension of Birmingham’s runway be grounded as well?
BIA has already said the business case for the extension doesn’t stack up in the current straitened circumstances and is resisting Birmingham City Council’s insistence that a longer runway, allowing non-stop flights to China, India and the west coast of America, must proceed immediately because it will generate significant growth for the West Midlands economy.
It seems clear, however, that even if BIA doesn’t get its runway extension for years, the airport can still benefit from Heathrow’s difficulties.
Within hours of Lord Justice Carnwarth’s High Court ruling – that the Government’s position is “untenable” and its backing for the third runway must be reviewed – BIA chief executive Paul Kehoe noted that Birmingham Airport is running at less than half its capacity and could cope with another nine million passengers a year.
At first glance, his tactics might seem questionable.
Why point up the fact that BIA is not, actually, doing all that well?
Since his appointment, Mr Kehoe has been determined to present Birmingham as “Heathrow’s third runway”.
The announcement recently of plans for HS2 – the high speed rail link between London and Birmingham – with a station on the BIA doorstep, fell into his lap, enabling Mr Kehoe to announce that if and when the link is built it will be possible to travel between BIA and Heathrow in little more than half an hour.
“High Speed Rail will be the equivalent of placing Birmingham in ‘Zone 4’ of the London Underground Map”, he added.
A press release issued by BIA went on: “Birmingham is part of the solution to the ‘Heathrow Problem’.
“Even now the majority of Londoners could probably get to Birmingham as quickly as they could reach Heathrow’s check-in desks.
“Helping to solve the ‘Heathrow Problem’ by adding to Birmingham’s wider portfolio will help to create jobs and generate inward investment, on top of the 21,000 regional jobs that are expected to be created up to 2030 by expansion that is already planned and which has permission.
Mr Kehoe added: “Birmingham Airport is a vital yet under used piece of national strategic infrastructure.
‘‘It is already the Midlands’ premier international gateway. In addition to this important role, the prospect of HS2 will make journey times comparable with Gatwick and Heathrow, and shorter than Stansted and Luton.
“We have plenty of capacity and, linked to high-speed rail, we are uniquely positioned to attract passengers from the overheated South-east.”
The press release, it should be noted, made no direct mention of BIA’s runway extension plan. It remains to be seen whether that extension will ever now take place, since Lord Justice Carnwarth’s ruling suggests that all major airport expansion schemes are at odds with the Climate Change Act 2008, imposing a statutory duty on the government to deliver and 80 per cent reduction in carbon levels by 2050.
At the very least, according to the High Court, the third Heathrow runway – and, perhaps, Birmingham’s extended runway – must be the subject of a full review.
