Today's entry reports on the publication of the interim
report of the Airports Commission.
Yesterday, Sir Howard Davies published the long-awaited (but on
time) interim report on airport capacity in the south east of
England. The report can be found here. The report principally deals with
short-term proposals to increase capacity, but also announced a
shortlist of new runways to be built by 2030, among which one would
be chosen by the time of the final report in mid-2015. A second
runway might be needed by 2050.
Earlier in the year, more than 50 options had been suggested to
Sir Howard, but the shortlist he announced for further
consideration yesterday involved just two airports, Heathrow and
Gatwick, although he also threw a lifeline to the possibility of an
airport on the Isle of Grain (actually part of the mainland) in
Kent.
