Gatwick Airport has responded to an endorsement by UK business lobby group CBI, saying that it is the best option that meets its objectives to increase UK’s runway capacity and boost trade with emerging markets.
Responding to the CBI’s report on airport expansion, a spokesperson from Gatwick Airport said: "We wholeheartedly agree that the single most important consideration for the Airports Commission is the ability to recommend a solution that is both speedy and deliverable.
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"Expansion at Gatwick is the only option, which meets all the CBI’s objectives of deliverability, access to new markets and promoting greater competition."
According to a research by Steer Davies Gleave, CBI had reported that hub airports serve on average nearly three times as many destinations as point-to-point airports, whilst delivering almost twice as many flights on the routes that are served.
CBI deputy director-general Katja Hall said: "With Heathrow full and the UK slipping behind in the race for new connectivity, it is essential that the commission delivers a solution that addresses the ticking time bomb of our lack of spare hub capacity."
Gatwick Airport responded by saying: "A new runway at Gatwick would liberate capacity for more hub traffic at Heathrow and provide UK with two world-class airports that are able to address all travel markets and airline models.
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By GlobalData"It would foster competition between airport and airlines, without reversion to a less competitive environment that has already been deemed against the public interest.
"Once you take into account existing developments in aircraft technology and current aviation trends, it is clear that Gatwick is the best and obvious solution. We are surprised that in forming a view of the future of aviation policy, the CBI has chosen not to address the future of the industry itself."
