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By Jonathan Hinkles, 30-year UK airline executive
A recent appearance on the government’s Most Wanted list is remarkable: proposals for expansion at Heathrow. I say remarkable because previous Conservative administrations were riven with political in-fighting over Heathrow and whether it should ever be allowed to grow. That our current government has invited ideas on how to achieve this is a step forward indeed.
Reading the early responses filed by Heathrow Airport itself and the ‘Heathrow West’ concept outlined by a consortium led by hotel empresario Surinder Arora, one point from both plans jumps out at me – or rather, doesn’t jump out, for neither mentions it: how do you improve public transport links to Heathrow so that millions more air passengers each year can get to and from the enlarged superhub? The Arora pitch blandly offers unspecified “potential” for an expanded public transport hub, while Heathrow’s pitch appears lamentably silent on any meaningful expansion in public transport.