12 May 09 Latest news from ATH Cambridge.
Airports policy 'in tatters' as Stansted runway plans delayed again.
The government's airport expansion policy is in tatters, campaigners said today after it emerged that a planning decision on a second runway at Stansted is unlikely to be taken before the general election.
An independent planning inquiry into expanding Britain's third-largest airport will not end until September next year at the earliest, according to planning experts. The Conservative party has promised to scrap proposals for new runways at Stansted and Heathrow.
The government has already conceded that a Heathrow planning application is not expected until 2012.
A senior planning official at Essex county council, which is leading local political opposition to the Stansted runway, said the inquiry would probably begin in September and last a year, with another four months before a recommendation is handed to ministers. "It is likely that the inquiry will last a minimum of one year so it will be in the next administration before there is a decision," said David Dash, project manager for the councils opposing Stansted's expansion. Even if the planning inspector finds in favour of a second runway, the recommendation can be overturned by the government.
ATH News brief..
Luton airport shelves drop-off charges
Luton Airport has shelved plans to charge drivers £1 to drop passengers off at the terminal following an outcry triggered by the Daily Telegraph's disclosure of the proposals. This "kiss and drop" charges were due to come into force last month but have been put on hold until further notice. Luton would have been the first airport in the country to charge for dropping off passengers outside the terminal, although Birmingham forces everyone to use the nearby short-stay car park.
LONDON (Dow Jones)--A consortium comprising Citigroup (C) infrastructure fund, Vancouver Airport and John Hancock Life Insurance Co. submitted a bid for BAA Ltd.'s Gatwick airport late Tuesday, a full 24 hours beyond the original deadline, a person familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday.
The consortium, known as Lysander Gatwick Investment Group, is likely the fourth bidder for the airport, which was put on the block by BAA at the end of last year preempting a decision by the U.K. antitrust regulator.
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