‘For goodness sake, just get on with it’: Heathrow expansion must happen now, says Dubai airport boss

Plane Talk: ‘The benefits will kickstart the economy’ claims CEO Paul Griffiths

Overstretched? London Heathrow Terminal 5, seen from a departing British Airways aircraft (Simon Calder)

The UK desperately needs more aviation capacity and should start building more runways now: that is the view of Paul Griffiths, chief executive of Dubai Airports.

“For goodness’ sake, UK, just get on with it,” he told The Independent’s daily travel podcast.

Mr Griffiths runs the emirate’s Dubai hub, which handles more international passengers than any other airport. Dubai took the title from London Heathrow in 2014.

Since then Dubai has seen growth of 35 per cent compared with 15 per cent for Heathrow.

The two airports compete for global transfer passengers, for example between the US and India. But Mr Griffiths believes a third runway at Heathrow is essential.

He said: “Heathrow expansion was first discussed in 1946. Surely by now a decision is slightly overdue?

“The barriers to economic growth by constraining the growth of aviation are serious and probably not widely understood.

“The economic benefits will kickstart the UK economy in a way that no other industry could do.

“So please, let's get on with expanding the capacity of airports – Heathrow, Gatwick and everywhere else where there is demand exceeding supply.”

The UK is the third-biggest overseas market for Dubai International airport, after India and Saudi Arabia. Emirates this month introduced a fourth daily flight between its hub in Dubai and London Gatwick.

Before moving to his current role in Dubai, Mr Griffiths was chief executive at the Sussex airport.

Ministers have thrown their weight behind Heathrow’s controversial £49bn expansion plan at the UK’s busiest hub airport, including a third runway and new terminals.

The aim is that Britain’s busiest airport could have extra capacity within a decade, allowing new entrants such as easyJet to set up operations.

A third runway could allow Heathrow airport to expand to 150 million passengers a year, nearly double the current scale.

But there are widespread concerns about the environmental impact, ranging from noise and additional traffic in west London to the global impact of increased emissions.

Dr Douglas Parr, policy director for Greenpeace UK, said: “The government has decided yet again to prioritise more leisure opportunities for a comparatively small group of frequent fliers, whilst the rest of us have to live with the consequences of their disproportionate polluting.”

Mr Griffiths said: “Aviation is doing its level best to become a more responsible partner in the community.

“Aircraft noise continues to shrink. The latest aircraft are so quiet you're hardly noticing them. And when you look at old films of Concorde taking off in the 1970s, the noise was ear-shattering.

“We are a much more responsible citizen now as an industry. And the adoption of sustainable aviation fuel, which I'm personally championing as the way forward, will make a very significant reduction in the carbon emissions of aviation.”

The government says it is “working towards securing development consent this parliament”.

But Ryanair’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, has predicted the third runway will not be ready until 2040 at the earliest.

Mr Griffiths predicted that Dubai will see 99.5 million passengers during 2026, though he described the estimate as “conservative”. Work is continuing at Dubai World Central, an airport with a much bigger footprint that is intended in time to replace DXB.

Read more Plane and Train Talk from Simon Calder here