scrubbedexpat141

What does everyone think?

We had a discussion internally about it, with guys in the UK. Most seemed completely in favour (obviously, we're certain to win contracts to build there).

But I think it's good generally. Gatwick is shit and for tin-pot holidays to Faro. Heathrow is better connected to London and in a better position for outside London travel as well.

3rd runway will upset folk living there and compulsory purchases are just a sad state but necessary for things like this.

The jobs it will create, the pressure it can help relieve and then deal with as travel continues to increase...all of these things make this a bit of a no-brainer for me.

Anyone care? Anyone have any opinion on it?

I just hope they get on and do some sodding work though. This stinks of yet more years of nothing.

DXBtoDOH

I liked BoJo's idea of a new airport in the Thames estuary. Easier to get to the City from that end than from Heathrow.

As it is, a third runaway at the current location doesn't change anything for me. Nor will it for most people in the UK. Sorry for the folks in the vicinity but it's a critical piece of national infrastructure that's worth maintaining and upgrading.

DXBtoDOH

Sorry to go off on a tangent, but does the big drop in the pound have any impact on Hinkley Point? I imagine the building will now cost the contractors a lot more. Hinkley is the one thing I really don't want seen built for a variety of reasons.

jam25mack

Its the standard NIMBY argument. Yeah we want XYZ as long as it isn't anywhere close to them.

I was chatting to our airports guys last week and they were expecting it to move very quickly once the go ahead was given. As far as I know several other things were dependent on this been given the go ahead. Not sure whats happening in terms of awards tho.

scrubbedexpat141

I don't like this because of it's access to the rest of the UK.

My Mum's (and roughly where I'd like to live in the UK is 62miles as the crow flies to Heathrow, 80 miles by road.
Gatwick is 68 miles as the crow flies but the quickest route is 101 miles. It's just in a really shit position and badly connected.

People don't just go to London. In the Thames estuary would serve East Anglia and Kent perfectly...

Dunno. We're in on that too.

Hope you're right. It would be great to have an actual, properly sized international airport.

DXBtoDOH

Split the flights between the potential estuary airport and Heathrow? Keep Heathrow for UK bound flights and the new Theresa May International Airport for mostly transit flights? One of the arguments in favour of the estuary is that planes would fly around the UK via the Channel and enter over the Thames rather than flying across the country. Perfect for transit passengers who are only flying to the UK to fly onward elsewhere.

I suppose for this to work BA would have to relocate to the estuary airport as they'd have the lion's share of transit flights.

FYI Heathrow is an actual properly sized international airport. It's much bigger than most "international" airports. It's just at full capacity.

Millhouse

It doesn't matter. Give it a few more years and planes will just fly over the UK anyway.

scrubbedexpat141

Maybe you're right. I just don't think ANOTHER airport is the answer when the two majors could be expanded.

Heathrow is alright. It's better than Gatwick and better than a lot of big airports but it's miles behind some of the best.

Maybe a brand new airport solves that (going back to your Thames suggestion). Or maybe not. A third runway and terminal improvements will definitely help.

Millhouse

Let's be honest, all UK airports are a bag of shit. It takes almost an hour to pick up a hire car at Heathrow. T5 is terrible in it's layout with its dual remote gates, and taxi monopoly.

Sadly, poor planning, NIMBYS and lack of a decent regulator has allowed our core infrastructure to be sweated into the ground. They don't even look nice.

Airports are the first thing a visitor sees of a country, and ours suck.

scrubbedexpat141

Mainly agree.

The car hire at Heathrow is a nightmare. Shitty area to wait for a shitty bus to a busy collection place with no easy way back to motorways.

T5 - I've only flown out of there once. Liked the structure and way you move through the building. But only because it was new and novel I guess.

DXBtoDOH

I have only flown in/out of T5 at Heathrow ever since it opened (blessing me with hundreds of thousands of Avios points I can't figure out how to use).

I like it. Clean, modern, airy. No better or worse than DXB to be frank.

Easy access to London via the underground or the express.

IKnowNothing

Those nimbys complaining about the third runway, they knew there was an airport there when they bought their houses! Add to the fact they're getting an extra 25% on top of the market value of their houses, what's not to like?

Pongo

I'd build a new airport, somewhere on the HS2 line...

co durham boy

Gatwick is just as bad now . EK fly out of the North Terminal and there's no car hire from there , what's all that about !

Monorail , walk , escalator and mingling with the unwashed going to Corfu

scrubbedexpat141

I just avoid Gatwick for the simple facts that it's further away, harder to get to / from and generally more shit.

Heathrow's no leading light but it's alright at least.