8 Questions: Aviation capacity

The government has delayed a decision on whether to expand Heathrow. This month’s 8 Questions focuses on aviation capacity. 495 readers responded

1. Do you think a third runway should be built at Heathrow?

The government has, once again, fudged a decision on whether to expand Heathrow airport with the addition of a third runway. The responses to our first question offer some insight into one of the main reasons behind that procrastination – public opinion on the matter is finely balanced. Expand, and a lot of people are angered; stay the same, and a lot of people are disappointed. Lose-lose.

2. Would you prefer to see expansion at Gatwick, rather than Heathrow?

What about expanding Gatwick airport, then? This was shown to be a less popular solution than building at Heathrow, mainly due to the geographic spread of PE readers. Many respondents from the Midlands and the North of England said that Gatwick was even harder to get to than Heathrow, particularly by car, adding extra junctions around the notoriously congested M25 motorway. 

3. Do you believe there is any need for airport expansion in the South East?

While airport expansion is acknowledged as a difficult issue to get right, PE readers believe that something must be done to avoid future delays. Population growth and the emergence of low-cost airlines are driving aviation numbers up, year-on-year, and this demand is particularly high in the South East, it was noted.

4. Do you accept that delays over airport expansion will damage British businesses?

Business groups such as the Confederation of British Industry have been lobbying politicians for years over airport expansion, and were bitterly disappointed when the current government kicked a decision into the long grass. Most PE readers have sympathy with the CBI, believing that the dallying will damage British businesses.

 5. Are you concerned by the impact of aircraft noise?

And so on to the environmental impact of scheduling more flights at UK airports. The question regarding noise revealed a distinct whiff of selfishness among readers that is probably replicated among the public at large. Almost half of respondents said they weren’t bothered by aircraft noise, mainly because they didn’t live anywhere near an airport or underneath a flight path. 

6. Are you concerned by the impact of aviation on air quality?

The Yes vote here was higher than it was for the previous question, mainly due to the fact that aviation emissions propagate further than noise. That said, the No vote still remained quite high, with many readers stating that planes were only responsible for a small percentage of total global emissions, and that other sources of air pollution such as coal-fired power stations were more of a worry. 

7. Once on board an aircraft, do you enjoy the act of flying?

For most people, the experience of getting to the airport and then through security is tiresome and frustrating. Once that’s done, though, and the aircraft takes off, more than two-thirds of PE readers say they have a pleasant time. That seems to come from the sense of wonderment that many engineers still get from flying. Lots of readers said in the write-in replies that they were amazed at how far aviation had come in little over 100 years of development.

8. Do you think commercial supersonic air travel will return in your lifetime?

It’s rare that modern transport infrastructure takes a technological step back, but that’s what happened when Concorde was retired and commercial supersonic flight was no more. Many readers rue Concorde’s demise, mainly because British engineers had such a prominent role in its development. They also don’t hold out much hope of a Concorde replacement taking to the skies, mainly owing to prohibitive development costs and the environmental impact of such an aircraft. 

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If so send us an email to pesurveys@caspianmedia.com with the words Panel Member in the message box and we will add you to future correspondence.