LONDON (AFP) — The British government signalled Thursday plans for a major expansion of London's Heathrow airport, despite protests by environmentalists, local residents and the capital's maverick mayor.
Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly unveiled proposals including a third runway at the west London airport, a sixth terminal and changes to take-off and landing patterns.
The public will have until the end of February to voice their views on the plans, but the minister signalled her intention to press ahead with change at Heathrow, London's main airport and a key global European air hub.
"Heathrow supports 170,000 jobs, billions of pounds of British exports and is our main gateway to the global economy.
"But for too long it has operated at nearly full capacity, with relatively minor problems causing severe delays to passengers," said Kelly.
"If nothing changes, Heathrow's status as a world-class airport will be gradually eroded -- jobs will be lost and the economy will suffer."
She acknowledged that the expansion had to be "compatible with meeting tough local environmental tests on noise and air quality."
But environmentalists said the plans would make a mockery of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's commitment to tackling climate change.
"Allowing airports like Heathrow to expand seriously threatens targets for tackling global warming," said Richard Dyer of Friends of the Earth.
"The government must curb the growth in flights if it is serious about significantly cutting Britain's carbon footprint."
Greenpeace head John Sauven added: "The economic costs of climate change will dwarf any profits business might make from a third runway.
"Global warming is the greatest threat we face and requires a response that radically changes the way we think about airports."
Over the past decade, the number of passengers using Heathrow has grown by 21 percent. Currently there are 67 million per year travelling through terminal facilities originally designed for 40-45 million.
Heathrow operates at 98.5 percent capacity, compared to 74 percent for Paris' main Charles de Gaulle airport. A fifth terminal is due to open next March, providing much-needed extra capacity.
London Mayor Ken Livingstone added his voice to those of other critics.
"I am firmly opposed to this expansion of Heathrow airport as it runs contrary to all the growing evidence we now have on the impact of aviation on climate change," he said.
"Only last week, the latest UN inter-governmental panel climate change report warned of the very real threat of abrupt and irreversible climate change if we continue to allow carbon emissions to grow."
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