UK Economy to suffer unless south east airport capacity increases, warns regulator

The CAA has published a paper on future aviation policy in which it says that the Government should focus on consumers in developing its policy, not on the airline industry or airports.

CAA chief executive Andrew Haines said in a statement that new air infrastructure capacity will be needed, especially in the south east of England.

"Additional capacity would offer significant benefits for consumers, and for the UK as a whole, so long as it is delivered in an environmentally sustainable way," he said. "However, as we haven’t built a single runway in the south east of England capable of handling Boeing 747s and Airbus A380s for over 70 years, the difficulty of increasing capacity is obvious."

Haines said that the Government should put in place an aviation policy that would last for a generation and give the private sector confidence to deliver the additional capacity.

Planning law expert Jonathan Riley of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, backed the CAA's call for a long term plan.

"The CAA's report adds significant weight to the case for new airport capacity in the south east," he said. "It is unequivocal that only new infrastructure offers a long-term solution to current capacity constraints. Whilst the CAA remains agnostic on location, its call for a national policy statement on aviation, to give confidence in the planning process for that new infrastructure is welcomed and well-timed."

The current Government said when it took office in 2009 that it would cancel the proposed third runway at Heathrow and that it would refuse permission for additional runways at Gatwick and Stansted.