The case for a third runway at Heathrow remains as shaky as ever
Nothing appears to have happened to change the analysis produced by the Department for Transport in 2017. This suggested that, if more airport capacity is really needed, it should be at Gatwick, on economic as well as environmental grounds.
Andrew McLuskey
Ashford, Middlesex
SIR – The proposal for a third runway at Heathrow is misguided.
With the additional possibility of a second runway at Gatwick, the skies over London and the south-east of England risk becoming even more crowded, increasing the likelihood of a catastrophic crash.
The answer is to build a new four-runway, state-of-the-art airport in the Thames Estuary, with fast rail links to London and nationwide. This could serve Britain for at least the next century. Heathrow and Gatwick would gradually be closed down, freeing up valuable land for much-needed housing. The claimed disruption to bird life is overstated: they will simply move north to the wetlands of Suffolk and Norfolk.
We need politicians with the vision to implement such a scheme, rather than the short-sighted ones we currently have.
Sandy Pratt
Storrington, West Sussex
SIR – As a Tory, I am not particularly enamoured with Sir Sadiq Khan or Sir Keir Starmer.
However, on the question of Heathrow, I side with Sir Keir. Sir Sadiq should be reminded that he is merely a mayor, while Sir Keir is the Prime Minister.
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