The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has welcomed findings from the House of Commons Select Committee that a third runway at Heathrow would reduce wasted fuel emissions.

At present, fuel is wasted due to ‘stacking’, where planes wait mid air for landing space.

Since 1990, Heathrow’s list of destinations has declined from over 220 to around 180, due to congestion. As continental airports have been thriving, Heathrow has become less and less viable as Europe’s major hub airport. Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport and Paris’ Charles de Gaulle boast five and four runways respectively.

Christopher Snelling, FTA’s head of global supply chain policy, said: “We agree that a third runway would reduce stacking, in turn reducing fuel wastage which is an appalling cost to the environment”

The FTA report states that Heathrow currently operates at 99 per cent capacity, putting its day to day running under incredible strain. This is to the detriment of the UK domestic economy, with air services being a vital part of UK trade, especially with fast-growing economies such as China.

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