Air, Freight News

Heathrow third runway vital for post-Brexit Britain, says FTA

[ September 12, 2019   //   Chris ]

The Freight Transport Association says that an expanded Heathrow Airport is vital to support the UK’s global trading ambitions after Brexit, according to FTA, as consultation on the controversial third runway closed on 13 September.

Head of multimodal policy Alex Veitch, warned that air freight growth had stalled in recent years due to capacity constraints, and a third runway “was vital to achieve Britain’s global trading aspirations, especially after the UK leaves the EU. FTA is urging the Department for Transport (DfT) to support Heathrow’s ambition so it can press ahead with construction.”

The consultation includes a proposed a Heathrow Ultra-Low Emission Zone (HULEZ) by 2022 under which, any passenger or private hire vehicle entering the airport which does not meet prescribed emission standards will be fined. However, it does not include freight vehicles.

FTA head of urban policy Natalie Chapman, commented: “While we support the urgent need to improve air quality, Heathrow Airport is right to exclude freight vehicles from the scheme: environmentally friendly HGVs and vans are already flooding the market and HGVs will be subject to a tightening of the London-wide Low Emission Zone from next year. As such, including freight vehicles within the HULEZ would present no long-term benefit to air quality.”

 

Tags: FTA; Brexit