Britain has kicked-off a debate on how to compete with hub airports like Schiphol, Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt. While some want to expand existing airports, others would rather build a new four-runway hub from scratch.
Watch the video and answer the questions below. Decide if the statements are True or False.
1. Hounslow is in east London.
a. True
b. False
2. The Chief Executive of Heathrow Airport believes that a third runway at Heathrow will be cheaper than the alternatives.
a. True
b. False
3. The RSPB spokesman said that about 300 thousand birds come to the Isle of Grain for the summer.
a. True
b. False
For transcript and answers see below.
Transcript and Answers:
Hounslow in west London knows all about living life on a flight path. Around 600 flights come into land daily at nearby Heathrow airport, one of the world's busiest. But running at 98 percent capacity, the airport has for years argued for a third runway to make room for future growth. And for years those plans have been fought off by campaigners concerned about additional noise and air pollution.
Now though, a government advisory panel has been set up to look at the question of capacity and Heathrow are keen to put their case forward:
"I think it's really important because it connects the UK to growth, to jobs - without those air links we can't participate in the same way in trade with countries that are growing - in China, in Brazil, in India. We have to have access to those markets, our proposals give that quicker, for less money than the alternatives and we've configured it in a way to minimise the unwelcome aspects locally and maximise the local employment benefits."
While some favour a single large hub airport over limited expansion of existing airports such as Gatwick and Stansted to best serve Britain's needs, none have been as radical as London's mayor, Boris Johnson. He backs closing Heathrow altogether and building a four-runway hub from scratch on an artificial island in the Thames estuary to the east of London or on the nearby Isle of Grain.
"I still think that the Isle of Grain solution seems to me to combine the regeneration with the connectivity and with the ease of communication to London - that seems to me to be why that option for my money has the edge at the moment."
Building an airport here would cost around £65 billion and would not open until 2029 at the earliest. But the mayor would have to overcome local opposition and work out how to relocate a vast swathe of protected natural habitat, including its marine and bird life.
"I'm talking about 300 thousand wintering waders and wildfowl that are coming down from the whole of the Arctic Circle, from Canada across to Siberia, Iceland and Greenland are coming here for the winter, many of these birds have seen catastrophic population declines in recent years, they are managing to keep a toehold because of places like this."
The threat of bird strikes and the challenge of relocating an entire ecosystem may well kick this plan into the long grass.
The Airports Commission will deliver its verdict in 2015 on how Britain should resolve its aviation conundrum. Only then the poisoned question of what type of airport, and in whose back yard it should be built, may finally be resolved.
Answers:
1. b
2. a
3. b
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