BAA blasts Tory plan to axe Heathrow third runway

Businesses will face "disaster" under Tory plans to scrap the third runway at Heathrow, the airports operator warned today.

Heathrow owner BAA said Tory leader David Cameron "simply doesn't get aviation policy" and warned that the London economy will lose out to the rest of Europe.

The damning criticism came a week after the Tories announced their anti-expansion stance would be a key green election pledge.

Airlines are pushing for more slots at the airport, which is operating at 99 per cent capacity, but residents and environmentalists say more air traffic would generate too much noise and pollution for a built-up area.

Mike Forster, R3 (third runway) director at BAA, said the Tories' alternative plan to build more international capacity at regional airports and high-speed rail lines to replace domestic air services "just won't work".

He said money needed to be invested in expanding a hub airport like Heathrow, where many flights link up, rather than developing more "point-to-point" routes from airports outside London that are less useful for companies.

Speaking after addressing The Place West London Conference, he said: "The Tory party simply doesn't get aviation policy. We're trying to engage with them but it's hard. The message we're getting is that they've made up their minds. But we're going to keep pressing them and trying to discuss it with them. If we don't expand Heathrow we will end up with a country effectively on an airline branch line rather than a main station in Europe. Businesses would relocate to growing European hubs. It would be a disaster."

BAA has cited research from the British Chamber of Commerce which claimed the UK was losing £1billion a year in business from not expanding the west London airport.

Mr Forster said BAA is prepared to wait for a Cameron government to "come round" to an extra runway. "They can have a think about this and then settle on the only right answer - a third runway at Heathrow," he said.

But the Tories immediately hit back. Shadow Transport Secretary, Theresa Villiers, said: "There are simply no credible statistics whatsoever which prove that the country's economy will spiral into decline without a third runway.

"There is, however, clear evidence which shows that a third runway would damage the health of surrounding communities and undermine the quality of life of those living under the flight path, not to mention make a mockery of our fight against climate change.

"BAA need to realise that the argument has moved on. They should be focused on making Heathrow a better airport for passengers and airlines, and not on picking fights. Under a Conservative Government there will be no third runway at Heathrow Airport."

Sceptics have questioned whether the Tory stance on Heathrow is a calculated bid to win over residents of key marginal constituencies surrounding the airport.