“This is already an area of full employment with massive prosperity. It is hard to recruit staff because everyone round here who wants a job has already got one, and people won’t move here because of high house prices. So I’m not sure where all these claimed economic benefits will go.
“Very few people will actually gain from expansion. The trains are overcrowded and the roads are jammed every day - not so much with people going to the airport, but with local traffic serving all the businesses that are here because they want to be near Gatwick.
“Surely it would be better to put airport capacity further up the country where there is a demand for growth, a need for jobs, cheaper land.”
Airport access vs HS2
The AOA says increasing average journey speeds to airports by 5% would boost UK GDP by £1.9bn a year and support an extra 32,000 jobs.
It says that compares favourably with the first phase of HS2, which would support 22,000 jobs in the West Midlands and provide an annual £1.5bn boost to the economy. Overall, HS2 is expected to support 100,000 additional jobs.
The airport operators point to a range of studies that find a positive impact from higher levels of airport activity. They range from £20 to £170 of Gross Value Added for each extra passenger. GVA estimates for each additional employee range from £20,000 to £100,000.
The AOA wants the Government, with Network Rail and Highways England, to set out how it will make decisions about which airport access projects it will prioritise.
It says the National Infrastructure Commission, led by Sir John Armitt, should provide policy continuity over a long-term horizon, regardless of changes in Government. It says the NIC should also take into account the positive impact on UK inward tourism, valued at £22 billion a year, as this is currently ignored.
