Fears were expressed yesterday (28/01/09) that plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport could jeopardise expansion plans at Birmingham Airport. The study outlines that the increased emissions from the 3rd runway would exceed the UK governments target carbon dioxide emissions for the whole of the UK. In order to meet the target the government could be forced to cut 1000’s of flights a year from other UK airports.
Birmingham Airport has ambitious plans to expand capacity from 9 million passengers a year to over 28 million a year by 2030. Provisional planning approval has already been granted to extend the runway by 400 metres, which will enable the development of long haul network.