Forwarders welcome Heathrow ruling

Speaking after yesterday’s ruling by the High Court in London against campaigners challenging the legality of the UK government’s decision to allow a third runway at Heathrow Airport, Robert Keen, Director General of the British International Freight Association (BIFA) said:
“On behalf of BIFA member companies, which are keen for the greater number of flights and accompanying airfreight capacity that would result from a new runway, I can only hope that yesterday’s ruling helps bring the debate on Heathrow expansion closer to an end.
“However, whilst some have said that the ruling is another important step towards bringing fifty years of indecision and delay on expanding Heathrow to a welcome close, the likelihood of further legal challenges to an extra runway emerging still leaves me with a certain sense of foreboding whether the spades will ever hit the ground.
“Any further legal challenges need to be handled robustly and need to be accompanied by an expedited planning procedure, which has been mentioned previously, with no reopening of high level arguments.”
For several years, the trade association that represents UK freight forwarding and logistics businesses has welcomed plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport, and criticised the years of argument and delay.
Keen concludes: “It would be nice to think that yesterday’s ruling is a further nail in the coffin of procrastination over the expansion of UK aviation capacity. If that is the case, it is long overdue good news for our 1,500 member companies who have been dismayed over the ongoing delay on such a huge issue.”