Introduction
The position of the United Kingdom as a prime world aviation hub is at risk due to its ability to meet increasing capacity requirements. Heathrow is functioning at 98.5 per cent of its capacity and there is a substantial shortage of runways in the south east, indicating that the UK economy is at loss of nearly £1.2 billion a year to France, the Netherlands, and Germany. As experts confirm, adjusting and rearranging new schedules and altering flight slots will not resolve Heathrow’s shortage of capacity but neither will constructing a new multi runway hub airport within the Thames Estuary, which cannot be ...