Archived press release

Freedom to fly's cliffe airport joke

20 May 2003

Friends of the Earth today rejected Freedom to Fly's offer of writing to the Government asking it to withdraw Cliffe airport as a possible new airport if Friends of the Earth, and other environmental organisations, agreed not to oppose expansion of the south east's other airports.

Friends of the Earth's aviation campaigner Paul de Zylva said:

"This is just another cheap publicity stunt from the Freedom to Fly coalition. The Government already knows the aviation industry opposes Cliffe, not because it cares for the environment but because it wants to expand existing airports. The Government's own figures show there is no need for any new runways.

"If the White Paper fails to include the measures necessary to put aviation on a sustainable course, then legal means cannot be ruled out. Ministers should adopt genuinely sustainable policies rather than building runways whatever the cost. To claim that a new airport at Cliffe would be unsustainable but runways everywhere else are okay is a joke."

Friends of the Earth objections to the proposal are:

1. The aviation industry opposes the Cliffe proposal and has already told the Government this. There is therefore no need to send a special letter about Cliffe when Ministers already know what the aviation industry thinks;

2. Expansion of other south east airports would still have huge effects on Kent where the Cliffe proposal is located, both because of more flights, and the knock-on effects of more road traffic and loss of land to development pressures caused by airport growth even if the airport is in another county;

3. The Cliffe proposal should be campaigned against but few doubt that it was put in as an option for the Government to withdraw later and appear to be 'green'. As an Aunt Sally option Cliffe was put in the consultation to pile pressure onto people already affected by operations at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted;

4. There is no need for any new runways in the south east. This is the latest finding of the Government's own computer. If the aviation industry had to stand on its own feet instead of being subsidised by every UK taxpayer to the tune of ?9 billion each year (and rising) the level of demand to fly would fall (from the Government's forecast 500 million passenger a year in 2030 to 315 million a year).

The current number of passengers is about 200 million a year giving a net rise of about 115 million over the next thirty years. Crucially, this number could be accommodated entirely within existing south east airport capacity including the recent approved expansions at Heathrow (Terminal 5 - capable of handling at least 30 million passenger a year) and Stansted (which will be capable of handling up to 25 million passengers a year).

The £9 billion could be spent instead on better education, health care, policing and public transport.

For more on this story see www.airportwatch.org.uk

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust