100 leading businesses and organisations say yes to a third runway

100 Leading Businesses and Organisations Say:
"Heathrow needs a third runway built within
strict environmental standards”

In a statement appearing in national newspapers today (15 September 2008), 100 companies and organisations have given their backing for a third runway to be built at Heathrow Airport, within strict environmental standards.

Of the 100 organisations involved, the public companies alone have a combined market capitalisation of more than half a trillion pounds.  The total revenue of the public and private companies amounts to more than £480 billion per annum.  Together, the organisations directly employ over 825,000 people in the United Kingdom.

In the statement, they say: -
"Heathrow Airport is vital for business.  It offers the direct connections which make our companies globally successful, and which will be all the more important as India and China grow.  That’s been recognised by our European competitors – Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt airports will each have at least four runways by 2012.  And that's why Heathrow needs a third runway built within strict environmental standards.  Britain is at the heart of the global economy.  Let's make the right decisions to keep us successful."

Richard Lambert, Director-General of the CBI said:

“This  statement from a wide cross-section of British business demonstrates just how important good international transport links are to the long-term competitiveness of the UK. Businesses today operate in an increasingly global environment and if the UK is to remain an attractive place for them to locate, we need good, direct access to the global economic powerhouses such as China and India.

"Today,  Heathrow  provides  direct flights to a wide variety of destinations including Amritsar, Calcutta, Chennai, Mumbai,  Bangalore, Beijing, Delhi and Shanghai.  But the airport is full. And routes such as these are vulnerable if  Heathrow  cannot  maintain its hub status.  A third runway, built and operated within the strict environmental limits set by Government, will ensure that Heathrow is able to provide the quality services that business and other travellers need."

SUPPORTING QUOTES FROM SIGNATORIES:

Paul Walsh, CEO, Diageo plc, said: "A third runway at Heathrow is essential for UK competitiveness, particularly as we strive to meet the challenge and opportunity of the emerging economies of Africa, Asia and Latin America."

Chris Gibson-Smith, Chairman, London Stock Exchange, said: “The success of the City of London depends on its infrastructure. A bigger and better Heathrow is an absolute priority if we are to sustain London’s competitiveness.”

Sir Gulam Noon MBE, Chairman, Noon Products, said:  “As a successful British business, good transport links that are fit for purpose are vital to our continued growth.  Heathrow is vital if our business is to expand and grow overseas.  That is why Noon Foods supports a third runway.  We are sensitive to local residents concerns of course.  But on balance we believe that the benefits for the nation as a whole, and business in particular, outweigh these concerns.”

Mervyn Davies, Chairman, Standard Chartered, said: "Standard Chartered is headquartered in London but derives over 90 per cent of its profits from the emerging trade corridors of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. A third runway at Heathrow is a prerequisite if the UK is to continue to benefit from the emergence of the new economies." 

Brendan Barber, General Secretary of the TUC, said: “This is a crucial infrastructure project that will help safeguard employment and create quality new jobs, not just at Heathrow but in the wider economy in which it is such a vital link.. As long as it can be built in a sensitive manner, and meet the EU’s emission and air quality targets, the third runway at Heathrow, along with Crossrail, will keep Britain connected to the rest of the world.”

Shaun Whittaker, CEO, Thames Valley Economic Partnership, said: "Many businesses in the Thames Valley depend on Heathrow. The airport provides vital direct links to overseas markets and employs thousands of local people. A third runway will bring a boost to the local economy and will also ease congestion considerably, so we welcome it.  However the road and rail links to Heathrow from the Thames Valley and the West are inadequate.  The rail links that now exist between Heathrow and London have greatly improved access from the east - there now need to be similar links from the West."

Steve Turner and Brian Boyd, Unite the Union, said: “The construction of a third runway at Heathrow as part of the Government’s Airport Expansion proposals, is crucial for continued job security and new employment within not just the local community, but the broader associated industries where links to aviation is essential.

NOTES TO EDITORS:
Since 1990, Heathrow’s list of destinations has declined from 227 to 183, which means that the UK’s only hub airport now offers 50 less destinations than Amsterdam, 60 less than Paris and 100 less than Frankfurt.

A third runway at Heathrow will bring much needed resilience to the airport.  Heathrow is currently full.  Its two runways operate at over 99% capacity which means the slightest problem - heavy rain, fog or head-winds - can result in serious delays.  BAA is heavily investing in upgrading the existing terminal facilities but it is now widely accepted that Britain is short of runway capacity.

In comparison Paris has four runways, Madrid four, Amsterdam five, Frankfurt three, with a fourth already approved and due to open in 2011.  All operate at approximately 75 % capacity and so are better able to cope with problems.  They have fewer delays and are able to offer more destinations as a result.

Future Heathrow is a broad based coalition of business, trades unions and the aviation community.  (AMICUS, Air Transport Action Group, BAA, BALPA, Board of Airline Representatives in the UK, British Air Transport Association, bmi, British Airways, CBI, GMB, International Air Transport Association, London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, London First, London Heathrow Airline Operators Committee, Thames Valley Economic Partnership, TUC, TGWU, Virgin Atlantic Airways, West London Business)

MEDIA CONTACTS:
BAA – Damon Hunt – 0208 745 7224 or 07880 781587

British Airways – Paul Marston – 0208 738 5100 or 07789 610340

LIST OF SIGNATORIES:

Addleshaw Goddard

Alliance Boots

Amec

Amey

Arora

Asian Business Association

AstraZeneca

Avanta

Babcock

BAE Systems

Balfour Beatty

Barclays

Boeing

British American Tobacco

BBA Aviation

British Chambers of Commerce

British Hospitality Association

British Land

BT

Carillion

Carlton Partners

CBI

Clifford Chance

Cinven

Citi

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice

Construction Products Association

Compass Group

Corus

Costain

Counselage

Deloitte

Deutsche Bank

Diageo

Dial Consultants

DLA Piper

DWC Tang

EC Harris

Ernst and Young

EDS

Enterprise Inns

Freshfields Bruckhaus

Deringer

Friends Provident

First Group

Future Heathrow

GMB

Greenhill

Guoman Hotels

Hilton Hotels

Imperial Tobacco

IoD

JCA Group

JCB

JC Decaux

JER Partners

JP Morgan Cazenove

Laing O'Rourke

London Chamber of Commerce and Industry

London Stock Exchange

Mace

Marshalls

MCM

Merrill Lynch

MMC

Nomura

Noon

NSG Group

Omnicom Group

Pendragon

Pirelli

QinetiQ

RioTinto

Rothschild

RWE npower

SAB Miller

The Sage Group plc

Stuart Aviation

Standard Chartered

Scottish Chambers of Commerce

Scottish Council for Development and Industry

Serco

Severn Trent

Siemens

Sodexo

Spencer Stuart

Tate & Lyle

The Blackstone Group

Thistle

Thomson Reuters

Tube Lines

TUC

Turner and Townsend

Thames Valley Economic Partnership

Ulster Bank Group

Unite

United Utilities

Whitbread

Whitehead Mann

West London Business

WPP Group

Wragge & Co LLP