No need for second Birmingham runway

5.23.24pm GMT Fri 5th Dec 2003

West Midlands Euro-MP Liz Lynne has spoken out against rumours that Alastair Darling will be announcing plans to allow the building of another runway at Birmingham International Airport.

Liz Lynne said:

"A new runway at Birmingham Airport is totally unnecessary. Even according to the government's own, questionable statistics, the current runway won't reach maximum capacity for more than 20 years. And we should be managing air traffic growth, not merely adopting a policy of predict and provide.

"Only the Liberal Democrats have maintained a consistent position of questioning the need for massive air traffic expansion and have opposed expansion at Birmingham as well as expansion at Wolverhampton and a new airport in the Rugby area. It is simply no good criticising plans to build a new runway here if you agree that one is needed but will not say where it should be built. By contrast, we would constrain air traffic growth by taxing aviation fuel and campaigning to bring the air travel industry in line with the Kyoto treaty."