The boss of Gatwick today launched a blistering double attack on Sir Howard Davies’s Airports Commission and his airport’s bitter rival Heathrow.
Chief executive Stewart Wingate said the Davies Commission recommendation for a third runway at Heathrow was based on a catalogue of faulty judgments.
In a strongly-worded 50-page dossier, Gatwick attacked key sections of the Commission’s landmark report published last month using terms such as “superficial”, “flawed”, “inconsistent” and “erroneous”.
It said the report had not been critical enough of the likely noise and air pollution from an expanded Heathrow and claimed it also underplayed the complexity of the scheme. Mr Wingate, 43, added: “I just don’t think Heathrow will be delivered in my lifetime.”
The intervention was a declaration of war on the country’s biggest airport by its smaller rival, with the credibility of Sir Howard’s five-member commission at the heart of the battle. David Cameron’s government is formally considering the Davies report for a decision this autumn on whether to expand the Heathrow hub or have two competing dual- runway airports.
Mr Wingate said the idea that Heathrow could open a third runway by 2025 was “utter nonsense” and “impossible to be delivered”. Gatwick argues that the commission blundered in using Department for Transport estimates of Gatwick’s customer numbers that are “10 years out of date”.
These suggested it would take Gatwick until 2025 to have 40 million passengers a year — a figure it will in fact achieve this year.
In an interview with the Standard, Mr Wingate confirmed he had decided to raise the stakes and go public with his criticisms.
He said: “We are at this critical stage where we are awaiting the Government decision. These are the final furlongs. It’s a decision which has incredible ramifications for our entire country. As a consequence of that, we think it’s incredibly important that Gatwick’s voice is heard.
“We don’t see there is any merit in us being anything other than forthright.”
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An Airports Commission spokesperson said: “The evidence in the final report was subject to extensive analysis and consultation and we are confident that it is fit for purpose.”
A Heathrow spokesman said: “The Airports Commission undertook a £20 million, two-and-a-half year detailed study of where the next runway should be in the UK. It unanimously and unambiguously chose Heathrow because it is the only option that will connect the whole UK to global growth.”
Hundreds of residents protesting against Gatwick’s bid for a second runway staged a demonstration yesterday when they formed the words “Gatwick, how low can you go” in a field close to the flight path.
