“It’s about time.” As the British government finally made a decision on Tuesday on the expansion of the UK’s airport capacity, that was the blunt reaction from the boss of the British Chambers of Commerce.
After almost half a century of controversy and prevarication, the green light has at last been given for the construction of a third runway at Heathrow, a decision that was greeted with widespread enthusiasm by the business community.
However their approval was tempered by the fear of a continuation of the delays that have dogged the issue of airport expansion ever since Harold Wilson's Labour government first appointed a commission to examine the options for a third airport for London in 1968.
While the government has made its decision there must now be a statutory public consultation, which will be followed by a vote by MPs in either 2017 or 2018. Many expect the ultimate decision to be subject to a judicial review given the extent of the opposition to the project from pressure groups.
Even on the most optimistic assumption, the new runway, which will take four years to build, will not be in operation until 2025, by which time aviation capacity in the UK is expected to have finally reached its limit.
Blindingly obvious
For the British Chambers of Commerce’s Adam Marshall – and the rest of the business community – the case for more runway capacity was “blindingly obvious”.
Views differed on whether it should be at Heathrow or Gatwick, or, more controversially, at a new site such as the so-called “Boris Island” in the Thames Estuary, or even Birmingham in the Midlands. Whatever the location, the business case for expansion has long been compelling.
Both Heathrow and Gatwick are already running at near 100 per cent capacity – last year Heathrow was overtaken as the world's busiest for international travel by Dubai International.
The construction of the first full-length runway in the southeast of Britain since the second World War will undoubtedly bring a major boost to the UK economy.
Business leaders have long argued that, without a third runway, the UK would be unable to maintain its competitiveness, with rivals such as France and Germany poaching a growing proportion of trade as Heathrow struggled with its capacity constraints.
The decision is “an enormous relief”, said Paul Drechsler, president of the Confederation of British Industry.
His views were echoed at the Federation of Small Business, which is hoping smaller firms will be able to secure their fair share of the estimated £18 billion cost of the runway project, which will include the construction of a new Terminal 6 building.
Rival airports
Unions also welcomed the decision. Peter Kavanagh of Unite, the biggest union at Heathrow with over 34,000 workers on its books, urged the government to “fast forward” the final decision so construction could begin.
“With every day that passes, rival airports like Frankfurt and Charles de Gaulle in Paris rub their hands at the prospect of gaining a competitive advantage,” he said.
The sums involved in the project are huge. The new runway could boost the UK economy by £147 billion over the next half century or so and create almost 80,000 extra jobs by 2030, according to an analysis from the Airports Commission. In providing the figures it cautioned, however, that precise numbers were hard to calculate.
The government’s decision to opt for Heathrow is by no means an end to the torturous process. The political fallout is only just beginning, and there will be numerous other obstacles to overcome. The environmental lobby has no intention of ending its opposition to the project, and neither will Gatwick, which put up a strong fight to be allowed a second runway.
Legal challenges
There will be legal challenges from local authorities in the Heathrow flight path, as well as residents of surrounding villages whose homes will be subject to compulsory purchase orders.
London mayor Sadiq Khan also made it clear yesterday he will continue to oppose expansion at Heathrow.
To Sir Howard Davies, who, as head of the airports commission, spent four years examining the UK’s airport capacity, the lack of a decision in recent years is seen overseas as “a symbol of Britain’s inability to decide on its future as a trading nation”.
In the post-Brexit referendum turmoil, the Heathrow announcement could hardly come at a more crucial time for the country as it faces years of complex negotiations on global trade deals. Prime minister Theresa May hailed the decision as a sign that Britain remains “open for business”. Now the government just needs to prove it.
Fiona Walsh is business editor of theguardian.com