Gatwick Airport chairman Sir David Rowlands has slammed government policy on aviation and dismissed as “nonsense” ministers’ claim that high-speed rail can replace the cancelled third runway at Heathrow.
The criticism was particularly damaging to the government because Rowlands was chairman of the High Speed Two project until last year. He also presided over the previous government’s aviation policy as a permanent secretary at the Department for Transport.
Rowlands told a Transport Times aviation conference in London yesterday (Wednesday January 26): “It is total nonsense to suggest building a high-speed rail network means there is no need to develop airports in the south east.”
He added: “It is infantile to pretend any other airport can play the role of Heathrow.” Rowlands said the government had shown “scant regard for the evidence and no regard for the experts” in making its decision.
Referring to ministers’ intention to produce a new aviation strategy by 2013, he said: “It was ludicrous to put a stop to airport expansion and then take years to decide what to do. I had not countenanced a coalition government coming into office and introducing a set of policies within days for which there is no evidence base.”