Much talk in the news these last few weeks about the proposed third runway at Heathrow, culminating in final approval from the transportation secretary, Geoff Hoon, in Parliament on Tuesday. 

Many of the people opposed to the building of the runway are gravely concerned about the damaging environmental impact that the extra traffic will create.  However, the arguments on both sides are compelling.  Some experts have reported that as many as 65,000 jobs could be created - a welcome boost in the current economic difficulties.  The government is also insistent that failing to create more space for arrivals and departures could see the airport losing vital revenue to our European neighbours such as Paris or Berlin.  Protesters counter this statement with the argument that the majority of flights handled by Heathrow are domestic and therefore offer no threat of lost business.

On the flip side, the residents of the village of Sipson are understandably horrified at the prospect of losing their homes to make way for the flight path.  It is a sobering thought that the entire village would have to be knocked down to make way for the planes. 

Heathrow currently operates at 99% capacity and has been plagued by complaints of delays, overcrowding at terminals, lost luggage and poor customer service in recent years.  The launch of Terminal 5 last year was an unmitigated disaster and created more bad press for the already under fire British Aviation Authority - the owners of Heathrow Airport. 

The subject is clearly far from closed.  To begin building the runway, the BAA will first have to obtain planning permission from local Government in Hounslow, where it is believed local officials are vehemently opposed to the project.  When the decision was announced in Parliament, one Labour MP, John McDonald, was so incensed by the decision that he rushed out of his seat, seized the mace - a 17th century ornamental club that represents the authority of the monarch and the speaker of Parliament - and set it down furiously on the Labour benches.  Apparently, this is a bit naughty in Parliamentary circles and he was promptly suspended for 5 days.  Maybe he was after a week off!

In all seriousness, this is a highly emotive issue and the chances of further opposition and demonstration are almost odds-on.  You will probably have noticed this has been a non Addison Lee or minicab blog entry today, but this will, of course, affect us as well.

Addison Lee carries out over 6000 airport transfers to and from Heathrow every week.  Our minicab rank ensures that we meet passengers from their planes on-time despite the occasional chaos of the airport.  A third runway would inevitably create more flights and therefore more work for Addison Lee.  However, it should not go unmentioned that Addison Lee is a company who have focused intently on the environmental effect of transport in the capital - maybe we won’t take sides just yet.