Airport extension in the south east of England. Pros and Cons of building a new airport at Cliffe

ASSESSMENT CASE STUDY:

A NEW LONDON AIRPORT AT CLIFFE

1. Introduction

Over the last 50 years there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of air travel across the world and the UK. Especially in the last decade the emergence of the low cost airlines has led to an increased demand for air travel. More and more people fly to destinations, whether it is for business or holidays. This resulted in increased pressure on existing airport capacity especially in the South East of England where demand is highest.

There is already a capacity shortfall in the South East, especially at Heathrow where demand is much higher than supply. This shortfall leads to more and more delays. At the moment 65 % of all Heathrow flights are delayed (Department for Transport, 2002) and Gatwick and Stansted are also operating close to capacity limits.

With forecasts predicting demand to treble until 2030 the government published a consultation document, "The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom" which looks at several airport capacity developments.

London Heathrow, Terminal 5, London, England

English: Aerial view of the London Heathrow Airpor...

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The feedback of this consultation will be used for the new Air Transport White Paper which will provide a policy framework for the next 30 years of British aviation and airports.

One of the proposed options is a new major hub airport at Cliffe in North Kent.

This report will focus on the new airport in Cliffe and identify the different stakeholders connected to building a new airport and look at the advantages and disadvantages a new airport would bring for them. It will conclude with a personal statement whether I think the airport should be built or not.

2.Advantages

The main stakeholders concerned about a proposed new major airport in Cliffe can be identified as the central government, the local government, being the...