Sir Howard Davies has appointed a team of experts to look at how to solve the UK’s airport capacity squeeze.
Davies is heading up a new independent commission to look at all options for increased capacity in the south-east including a third runway at Heathrow and a new hub airport in the Thames estuary.
He will be aided in his task by five other experts from the fields of transport, aviation, business and economics:
- Sir John Armitt CBE, former chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority and former chief executive of Network Rail.
- Professor Ricky Burdett, professor of urban studies at the London School of Economics and director of the LSE Cities research centre.
- Vivienne Cox, the former CEO and executive vice president of BP Alternative Energy and a former member of the BP Executive Management Team.
- Professor Dame Julia King, vice chancellor of Aston University and a member of the Committee on Climate Change, with a background in the aerospace industry.
- Geoff Muirhead CBE, former CEO of the Manchester Airport Group.
The commission will not report fully until mid-2015, which will be after the next general election, although there will be an interim report on potential short-term capacity solutions by the end of next year.
Davies said: “With open minds, we will take time to explore the evidence, consider the options and aim to develop a lasting solution to the nation’s aviation needs. Our ambition is to do a thorough piece of work that will ensure aviation continues to support this country’s economic, social and environmental ambitions.
“The experience of recent years shows we need a robust evidence base which has the support of a broad consensus of opinion. We aim to put the next government into a position in which rapid and implementable decisions can be soundly made.”
The Department for Transport said in a statement: “The commission’s role will be to identify and evaluate how any need for additional capacity should be met in the short, medium and long term whilst maintaining a UK-wide perspective.
“The commission will need to ensure it undertakes a thorough assessment of all the issues by considering all relevant factors including the economic, environmental and social costs and benefits and where necessary, the operational and technical deliverability.”
New aviation minister Simon Burns told the GTMC Conference on Monday that the government would “probably accept” recommendations of the Davies Commission as long as they were “sensible”.
But former Conservative deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine earlier this week called for the process to be speeded up.
Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin added: “Aviation is vital to the UK economy and we need to have a long term aviation policy which meets the challenges of the future. Sir Howard and his team will now take forward this vitally important work for the government and bring a much-needed fresh perspective to the debate.”