asked Her Majesty’s Government:
What assessment they have made of the long-term potential to reduce the number of domestic flights from Heathrow Airport; and [HL4667]
What assessment they have made of the potential to reduce the number of transit passengers using Heathrow Airport; and [HL4668]
What assessment they have made of the potential to reduce the number of flights from Heathrow Airport to European destinations within five hours’ travel time by train. [HL4669]
The Department for Transport’s position on Heathrow is set out in the 2003 Future of Air Transport White Paper and the recent Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport consultation.
Our support for new capacity at Heathrow, subject to meeting strict local environmental limits, is underpinned by detailed modelling of passenger demand up to 2030. These forecasts indicate that the range of domestic and international flights offered at Heathrow is crucial to the UK and particularly beneficial to the connectivity of passengers located in regions outside the south-east. As such, we have not modelled or assessed scenarios that would reduce the number of domestic flights or European flights from Heathrow. We have also not considered measures to reduce the number of transit passengers using Heathrow.
Ultimately, if policy support for further development at Heathrow is provided, it will be a commercial decision for the airport operator, working with its users, to decide which flights and destinations it wishes to operate in the future.