'We are the only party supporting the Thames Estuary as the right solution to the Heathrow problem.
There are a few people on the streets telling us they are going to vote for us. With more support it could grow' (quote).
There are
added benefits to an estuary airport:
A short-haul
seaplane company, similar to Loch Lomond Seaplanes, to fly passengers between
London and Osea Island, could be set up in the River Thames Estuary, to ‘ferry’
passengers from the City to an estuary airport, constructively using London’s
River (‘Return Of The Seaplane Lets Stylish Flyers Make A Splash’ (Times, March
14th, 2016)) http://www.lochlomondseaplanes.com/skye-seaplanes;
using
reclaimed land, possibly new dams could be built within the Thames Estuary, so
as to provide hydro-electric power to local communities, a truly ‘green’
alternative to Hickley Point.
At a previous CPA meeting I suggested that more use could be made of
Stansted, Gatwick and Luton Airports as an immediate short-term measure.
A) they have direct rail links to the
capital;
B) doing so would lessen the pressure / calls for a third runway at
Heathrow:
‘Sir, if .. thirty-two airlines are waiting for slots at
Heathrow, that does not prove the case for a runway at Gatwick. .. (It) would make more sense to make full
use of our existing London airports.
Stansted is at present only half-full, Luton only 55% full. The thirty-two airlines could find slots
there tomorrow: they would have to wait at least ten years for a new runway to
be built at Gatwick (Brendon Sewill, Chairman, Gatwick Area Conservation
Campaign, Times Letters, June 8th, 2016)’.
Passenger movements in
millions
From the
above it can be clearly seen that Gatwick, Luton and Stansted Airports are
underused, especially for handling cargo.
