Gatwick, which was one of the two other options for the bid, failed to convince the committee in its long-awaited report on expanding London’s aviation capacity.
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The debate over Heathrow’s future comes after the airport past year lost its status as the top hub for worldwide passengers, with Dubai toppling it from a position the London base had held for decades.
She said the airline supports the Airports Commission’s clear and unanimous recommendation and agrees that expansion at Heathrow will provide the greatest passenger and economic benefits, including lower fares by opening up the airport to increased competition.
Chaired by Sir Howard Davies, the commission has spent the past three years considering whether “urgently required” capacity should be built at Heathrow or Gatwick.
Members of the Gatwick Coordination Group, made up of Gatwick area MPs, have welcomed the Airports Commission’s endorsement of Heathrow as the location for the UK’s new runway.
Johnson, who along with Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne is seen as a front runner to succeed Cameron as prime minister, has said that a third runway at Heathrow is “undeliverable” and has vowed to “fight to the last ditch” against the plan.
London mayor and Tory MP Boris Johnson has criticised a report by the Airports Commission that backed Heathrow’s proposal to build a third runway, saying it would have “catastrophic impacts” on the local population. Such concerns in the past had become matters of protest and also political split. Only Heathrow expansion will keep Britain as one of the world’s great trading nations.
“To make expansion possible the commission recommends a comprehensive package of accompanying measures including a ban on night flights”, said commission chairman Sir Howard Davies.
EasyJet already serves four London airports – Luton, Stansted, Southend and its largest base, Gatwick – and McCall says it would open a base at Heathrow in addition to these operations if the Government gives the go-ahead for Heathrow expansion.
“The Commission’s recommendation is a fundamentally different proposition from previous proposals to expand at Heathrow”.
Stewart Wingate, Gatwick chief executive, said the airport was “still very much in the race”.
Dublin, with its easy access to the north Atlantic and its customs pre-clearance arrangement with the USA authorities, provides it with scope to grow that Heathrow no longer offers.
Building a new runway at Heathrow, Europe’s busiest hub, could cost more than $20 billion.
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“We urge the Government to agree to the recommendations of this Commission at the earliest opportunity, and set about the process of delivering this globally important scheme”.
