HEN News : Observer News : BAA grounds claim of runway defiance

HEN News : Observer News : BAA grounds claim of runway defiance: "BAA grounds claim of runway defiance
A CLAIM that the new owners of BAA might defy the Government and build a new runway at Heathrow before a second at Stansted has immediately been quashed.
On Sunday, British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh said he believed the Ferrovial-led consortium would take a more pragmatic approach to the business case for Heathrow over the Essex terminal.
But that idea was scotched by BAA, saying it was a non-starter. On Tuesday, a BAA spokesman said nothing had changed. After BAA was bought for �10.1bn in June by ADI, it confirmed to the Observer that it would continue with a second runway at Stansted.
The spokesman said this week that a third runway at Heathrow would have to overcome environmental issues first and that government review was not due to start until next year. Its conclusions would be after the planning application for G2 (Second Generation) had been submitted.
'In the South East, there's a shortage of airport capacity so the Government White Paper which suggests there should be a second runway as early as possible at Stansted is an extremely valuable piece of policy,' he stated.
The spokesman also felt that any inquiry into BAA's monopoly ownership of Britain's main airports would not affect plans for expanding Stansted.
The Office of Fair Trading is collecting views within the industry to consider whether to refer the issue to the Competition Commission. Any such inquiry would take at least two years, he said.
BAA's new owners' review of the costings for Stansted G2 were 'proceeding apace' and should be published no later than the autumn, said the spokesman. A planning application is expected to be sent to Uttlesford District Council in summ"