Lord Adonis claimed Tory plans to block expansion of Britain’s biggest airport posed a “serious threat” to Scotland’s transport links and would see airlines forced to choose between lucrative long-haul routes and lower-profit domestic services.
Speaking exclusively to The Herald, he predicted a steady erosion in the more than 100 weekday flights that currently exist between London and Scotland over the next decade in the event of a Conservative election victory.
“If the Tories were to win and Heathrow did not expand, then this would seriously disadvantage Scotland,” he said.
“It would create more pressure on landing slots at Heathrow and there is a real danger that airlines would divert those slots to larger, long-distance planes that give them greater revenue.”
His comments mark the latest spat between the UK’s two biggest parties over Heathrow ahead of the forthcoming General Election, but also reflect the concerns of business leaders in Scotland who have been lobbying for aviation links to London to be improved.
Heathrow currently accounts for 42 of the 105 weekday flights between London and Scotland’s six main airports.
Though Lord Adonis is known for supporting construction of a new high-speed rail line as a means of cutting down on domestic aviation, he said this was unlikely to be completed until the “mid-2020s” and
added: “Our aim is to give passengers an effective choice, not artificially cut off air routes by refusing to expand Heathrow.”
But he faced a storm of protest from opposition parties and environmental groups which claimed his support for domestic aviation made a “sham” of his commitment to cutting greenhouse gas emissions and encouraging rail travel.
Theresa Villiers, the Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, said that expansion of Heathrow would only come at the expense of regional airports, including those in Scotland.
“Experience demonstrates that capacity expansion doesn’t necessarily deliver extra regional slots. Last time there was an increase in capacity at Heathrow, it was accompanied by a reduction in the number of destinations served and a reduction in flights to UK destinations,” she said.
“Andrew Adonis is spinning a lie if he’s saying he would guarantee enhanced connectivity with the UK’s regional airports.”
Alistair Carmichael, the LibDem’s Shadow Scotland Secretary, added: “These comments show Andrew Adonis’ commitment to high-speed rail is a sham. A high-speed line would remove the need for internal flights between Scotland and England’s major cities.
“His scaremongering about the third runway only shows how out of touch Labour is with Scotland.”
The Government approved plans for a third runway at Heathrow, whose two runways are running at 96% capacity, in January 2009, but has faced stiff opposition from environmental groups and local residents.
A spokesman for the World Wildlife Fund pointed to Government figures which showed that aviation-related carbon dioxide emissions would increase from 17 million megatonnes per year to 24 million by 2030 if a third runway was built.
Airport group BAA, which owns Heathrow along with Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports, has pushed for a third runway in order to compete with Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam.
A spokeswoman for the Spanish-owned company said: “Over the last 15 years, the number of domestic destinations served from Heathrow has dropped from 21 to six. With a third runway, airlines have indicated that they would expect to restore links to regions that have lost their Heathrow service.”
Willie Walsh, chairman of British Airways, has previously indicated that it would restore the service between Inverness and Heathrow that was cut in 2008 if a third runway was built.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Any decision on additional capacity at Heathrow is a matter for the UK Government but Scottish routes should not be jeopardised in any eventuality.”
