New runways should be chosen for both Heathrow and Gatwick.

Heathrow cargo soars in the wake of Britain’s Brexit vote (11-10-16) 
"Heathrow welcomed a record number of passengers in September, with 6.8 million travelling through the UK’s only hub airport"which means 75.36 million  pax over the previous 12 months.

 

Gatwick’s record growth and booming long haul services continue to defy Airports Commission predictions (10-10-16)
"In September, 4.3 million passengers travelled through the airport which is +6.9% on the same month in 2015. Gatwick now serves 42.3 million passengers a year – this is a milestone the Airports Commission forecast Gatwick would not reach until 2030."

and just to show that the other airports are not affected negatively............

Stansted tantalisingly close to pre-recession passenger numbers (12-10-16) 
"The total number of passengers using Stansted in the 12 months ending September reached 24,009,348, up 8.4 per cent on the previous year and just 6,000 short of the record high set in October 2007........During September, nearly 2.2 million passengers passed through Stansted, up seven per cent on the same month last year and the second busiest September ever for the airport."

A record 14 million passengers use London Luton over the last year(13-10-16)       ".....the rolling annual total of passengers using the airport passed the 14 million mark for the first time....The airport saw its 30th consecutive month of passenger growth in September...... a record 1.4 million passengers chose to fly from the UK gateway last month."

There is a lot of pent-up demand which cannot be completely satisfied under the present slot restricted regimes at the two principal airports.

This blogger has never hidden the fact that he firmly believes in a new runway at each of the two airports............

..............................................but under what conditions?
The government is said to be making its decision in the next few days. This is a resume of the salient points to be included. 
 

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Heathrow:

The plans have already been presented to the public, with the favourite alternative at LHR being the third runway to the north of the present runways and between the A437 Bath Road and the M4 Motorway.

Heathrow 3rd runway option over M25

Heathrow airport has its own website ("Heathrow the Right Choice") to explain its plans for expansion and a third runway.

 Musts: for the third runway

• be between 3km and 3.5km. long x 45m. wide (to enable it to be used for up to large aircraft in exceptional circumstances when one of the others is closed. To be operated in mixed-mode for all the flights from its terminal so that there is no crossing of runways to the present terminals 2,3,4 and 5). 
• extend no further west than the M25 (with any planned widenings factored in) and far enough to the east so that the terminal can sit next to or above the new railway station below ground (thus excessive walking distances to public transport can be avoided)
  
• have a dedicated terminal for all its flights (this used to be called T6 but could take the name T1 to replace the demolished terminal of that name) 
• have a new railway station to be built underground to provide connections to the other terminals and central London (thus Crossrail and Heathrow Express can stop for passengers - to connect to the London Underground both HE as well as Crossrail trains would stop at Ealing Broadway)
• be limited to medium and small jet aircraft plus turbo props (this could mean up to the size B737, A320 and similar plus exceptionally what is needed for flights to Israel if bigger).
• be aircraft with low polluting thresholds (establishing strict limitation goals for the opening of the runway).
• operate airside all vehicles of whatever type which are non-polluting. (no combustion-engined vehicles at all from the opening date)
• be for British Isles and other island flights plus Benlux destinations (so that every British and Irish destination is served if so desired - this can be extended to the flights of other countries like Israel and Switzerland. This can be further refined to include other European island countries such as Iceland, Malta, Cyprus and the Faroes)
• operate strict hours to be established for normal operations but flexible enough to vary slightly in exceptional circumstances (this would include the ability of operators to reposition aircraft when affected by e.g.adverse weather conditions)
• establish a clear short-term timetable for these anti-pollution measures and the operating hours to be applied in the rest of the airport airside, and then to be extended to the whole airport within a generation.(this would include cars, taxis, buses, coaches and commercial vehicles unless they used non-polluting propulsion and thus promote the use of public transport)
• the financing of any expansion in the airport is the sole responsibility of the airport itself (the government will only finance complementary infrastructure outside the airport boundary where necessary - this will encourage the airport to make the investment without expensive embellishments)
• Reinstate a modified Cranford Agreement about the alternating use of the north(actual but future central runway) and south runways which was abolished in 2010
• Start planning and programming the connection by new railway line from Reading to Heathrow to Gatwick, and the extension from Gatwick to Ashford so as to be able able to provide direct rail services to mainland Europe, to be completed by 2030 (insofar as these works affect the airport).

• demand that Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd. redraws its plans for a third runway so as to make it less unnecessarily complex and intrusive thus reducing the cost.(e.g. are so many taxiways needed in their latest plans?)
• combine the Heathrow Express services with the Stansted Express services so that passengers from both can enter into central London without having to disembark at their terminal stations, and access can be direct between the two airports.

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Gatwick:
has been London´s second airport for many decades but is growing at such a rate that a second runway is considered necessary for future development.
The placement of the additional runway will affect fewer townships/villages than at Heathrow. The construction can be started after the end of the limiting agreement with West Sussex Council which runs out in mid 2019.
The runway can be built and operative before the new terminal is opened.  

Gatwick airport with second runway and third terminal.

Gatwick aiport has an extensive website (here) to explain its design on expansion including a second runway.

 

 Musts: for the second runway

• be between 3km and 3.5km. long x 45m. wide (to enable it to be used for up to large aircraft just as the present runway is used)
  
• start construction as soon as possible so that it can be brought into service asap even before the opening of the new terminal and its satellites.
• have a dedicated terminal and satellites for all the flights which avoid, where possible, conflicting ground movements of aircraft manouvering between terminals.
• a new light rail system to be built underground or overground to connect all the terminals and to the central National Rail station(thus Gatwick Express and other regional rail companies can serve all passengers without multiple changes of vehicles)
• the same light rail inter-terminal system would connect a central bus/coach station and car parks for private vehicles. 
• be limited to aircraft with low polluting thresholds (establishing strict limitation goals for the opening of the runway).
• operate airside all vehicles of whatever type which are non-polluting. (no combustion-engined vehicles at all from the opening date)
• be open for any operator/ to any destination but only passenger and freight traffic. (no private flights)
  
• operate strict hours to be established for normal operations but flexible enough to vary slightly in exceptional circumstances (this would include the ability of operators to reposition aircraft when affected by e.g.adverse weather conditions)
• establish a clear short-term timetable for these anti-pollution measures and the operating hours to be applied in the rest of the airport airside, and then to be extended to the whole airport within a generation.(this would include cars, taxis, buses, coaches and commercial vehicles unless they used non-polluting propulsion and thus promote the use of public transport)
• the financing of any expansion in the airport is the sole responsibility of the airport itself(the government will only finance complementary infrastructure outside the airport boundary where necessary - this will encourage the airport to make the investment without expensive embellishments)
• Apply an agreement about the alternating use of the north and south runways for take-offs and landings so as to provide relief to local residents if considered necessary/advisable.
• Start planning and programming the connection by new railway line to Heathrow, and the extension from Gatwick to Ashford so as to be able to provide direct rail services to mainland Europe, to be completed by 2030 (insofar as these works affect the airport).  

To build an additional runway at each of the two principal London airports these points/conditions must be included. If that is done then the needs of the business lobby can be squared with the worries/doubts of the environmental lobby to enable construction to commence.

Building at both airports ensures competition is maintained between the two.

 

 

This blogger has written extensively on the subject of additional runways in South East England. Be it sufficient to say that just two articles are there to understand the problems in detail 
 Heathrow´s 3rd runway - how to focus                      23-02-2012
 Heathrow and/or Gatwick - Let´s focus more             01-02-2015