Third Runway Offers LHR Global Connectivity, Says UK Transport Minister

But both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have drastically cut their routes to Africa and Asia over the last decade.

Proposals for the third runway at London Heathrow Airport (LHR) have finally been made available for public consultation, with the country’s secretary of state for transport promising that the new facility will bring “new global connections” to the United Kingdom post-Brexit.

In a statement to the country’s House of Commons, as quoted by the Guardian, Chris Grayling said, “Aviation expansion is important for the UK both in boosting our economy and jobs and promoting us on the world stage. Leaving the EU is a new chapter for Britain and provides us with a great opportunity to forge a new role in the world.”

“By backing the north-west runway at Heathrow Airport and publishing our proposals, we are sending a clear signal that when we leave the EU, we are open for business,” he added.

However, the Independent has revealed that, despite Grayling’s assurances, there has been a considerable reduction in routes to Asia and Africa by British airlines during the last ten years. British Airways (BA), which holds the lion’s share of the slots at LHR, has dropped over a dozen routes to Africa over the last decade. Meanwhile, over the course of the last four years, Virgin Atlantic has also reduced its African routes from LHR from four down to just two.

At present, the latter carrier serves just Johannesburg and Lagos from LHR while BA operates flights to eight African cities, including Abuja, Accra, Cairo, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Lagos, Luanda and Nairobi.

In terms of Asian routes, Virgin operates flights only to Hong Kong, Shanghai and Delhi, having withdrawn operations to Tokyo and Mumbai in 2015. BA just halted its service to the western Chinese city of Chengdu last month.

A spokesperson for LHR told the paper: “A degree of ebb and flow on demand on specific routes is normal. The record shows Heathrow overall has gained and maintained new long-haul routes that are so critical for the British economy. Despite having capacity constraints, Heathrow has gained six new, frequent long-haul routes since 2010 including new routes to emerging markets like Vietnam and Indonesia.”

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