Airport Capacity: Building Boris Island
So yesterday, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, put forward three proposals to increase airport capacity including a four-runway hub on an artificial island in the Thames Estuary, previously dubbed Boris Island. He also proposed a hub on the Isle of Grain in Kent or expanding Stansted Airport. Today Heathrow Airport has unveiled three options for a new runway, saying each one would be "quicker and cheaper" than plans for a rival hub airport. I think Boris' plans are just what the country needs and would throw my weight behind it whole-heartedly. I think one of the biggest problem with Heathrow has always been road infrastructure. It is very risky travelling to Heathrow on the busiest stretch of the M25, which is often congested. Everyone I know builds in extra time for delays whenever they fly from Heathrow, and even then the pitiful tales of missed flights due to traffic jams are plentiful. By contrast, the Isle of Grain has the necessary transport links large...