Third Heathrow runway 'good for Scottish business'

The Airports Commission report favoured expansion at Heathrow over Gatwick

The Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC) has welcomed recommendations for a third Heathrow runway, saying it would be good for Scottish business.

Glasgow Airport has also backed the the Airports Commission report, which favours expansion at Heathrow over Gatwick.

But Edinburgh Airport said it was "disappointed" by the recommendation.

The Scottish government urged Westminster to now act after "decades of prevarication".

Downing Street officials are expected to make a final decision in the autumn.

The UK government has said that it will consider the report properly and not make a "snap judgement".

In 2009, David Cameron pledged that there would be no new runway at Heathrow and London mayor Boris Johnson is firmly opposed to the move.

Sir Howard Davies's report recommends a third runway at Heathrow, saying it will add £147bn in economic growth and 70,000 jobs by 2050.

Plans for a second runway at Gatwick were also considered.

'Economic case'

The SCC had argued that the Heathrow option made more sense for Scotland, saying it could provide extra routes north of the border.

Garry Clark, SCC head of policy, said: "The economic case put forward by Heathrow was extremely compelling and I think, importantly, they had paid a significant amount of attention to the impact on Scotland - the potential for increased domestic air services linking-in with a hub airport at Heathrow, which would provide both inward and outward travel for Scottish business and tourists."

The Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI) also welcomed the report and said it hoped it would mean more flights between Scotland and London.

Ross Martin, chief executive of the SCDI, said: "The major London Airports are national infrastructure assets and they must serve the needs for the nations and regions of the UK.

"We particularly welcome the commissions' view that additional capacity can halt the decline in our air connections with them, and its recommendation that the government should change its policy and introduce airport-to-airport public service obligations as an interim measure to safeguard existing routes or support new routes, and, following expansion, support a wide network of domestic routes to and from Heathrow."

Amanda McMillan, managing director of Glasgow Airport, predicted that increased capacity at Heathrow would be good for Scottish business and tourism.

She said: "The ability of Scotland to maintain and increase its global competitiveness is dependent on having air links with established and emerging markets and Heathrow plays a hugely important role in facilitating this.

"Glasgow Airport will actively seek to secure direct links with hub airports throughout Europe and beyond. However, Scotland's population is of a size which means it can only ever sustain a certain number of direct flights. It is for this reason we support the expansion of Heathrow, however, an expanded Heathrow must deliver further access for Glasgow and Scotland.

"We would call on the UK government to act swiftly and implement the findings of the Airports Commission."

The UK government said they would make a decision on the recommendations in the autumn

The recommendations were also welcomed by Highlands and Islands Airports (Hial).

Inglis Lyon, managing director of Hial, said: "Heathrow has previously asserted that, with more runway capacity, regional airports such as Inverness could be re-connected to the UK hub.

"We made this a condition of our support in our joint submission with partners from across the Highlands and Islands and we hope that Heathrow will start to work constructively with regional airports to make this a reality."

But a spokesman for Edinburgh Airport said Gatwick would have been a better option.

He said: "We've been clear in our argument that expansion at Heathrow is not deliverable and as a result there can be no increased capacity in the south east.

"Long-haul flights can't fly from a runway that won't be built. Gatwick is the more deliverable option for Scottish passengers and we're urging the government to make a quick decision on this."

"Impartial"

The Scottish government said it remained "impartial" on the Airports Commission's report, but hoped a final decision would be made quickly to end years of uncertainty.

Transport Minister Derek Mackay said: "After decades of prevarication over airport expansion, this report now shows a way forward and the UK government must act on it.

"The Scottish government's response to the Commission was impartial but pressed the importance of guaranteeing Scotland adequately benefits from new capacity. We welcome the Commission's report and specifically Sir Howard's recognition that good connections between an expanded Heathrow and Scotland's airports are vital in respect of business connectivity, inbound tourism, and getting Scotland's products to the global market."

Environmental campaigners are concerned about an increase in domestic routes.

WWF Scotland director Lang Banks said: "The commission report confirms that without any constraints expanding airport capacity will lead to more flights and increased pollution. As aviation is the fastest growing source of climate change emissions it needs controlled, and not encouraged.

"Bosses at Heathrow have previously said that an extra runway there would allow for an increased number of short haul flights to London from Scotland's main airports, helping to undermine attempts to encourage the public to use less polluting alternatives like rail.

"Those who support airport expansion and more flying in Scotland need to explain which other parts of society will have to implement greater carbon cuts to accommodate the increased emissions that will result from this decision."