Truemors
Newquay Airport Expansion:
The Case Examined (Revised
Edition)
A report by Elizabeth Baines
Commissioned by Groundswell Cornwall
© Groundswell Cornwall 2007
www.groundswellcornwall.org
Executive
Summary
This report examines the case
for the proposed expansion of Newquay
Airport. It assesses current
demand and future predictions for air travel in the UK
and Cornwall,
and analyses the airport’s future viability in the light of climate change and
peak oil.
The past, current and future
operational deficits at the airport are considered. The inescapable conclusion
is that in spite of the planned investment the airport will remain unprofitable
indefinitely.
It challenges the assumption
that the growth in air traffic experienced over the last decade will continue,
referring to a troubled economic outlook for the UK, continuing rises in fuel
costs, government action in relation to climate change and increasing popular
concern over the
environmental damage of air
travel. The importance of the expansion of the airport in generating employment
and encouraging business in Cornwall
is challenged.
It argues that the impact of
peak oil on rural communities such as Cornwall
will be farreaching, irreversible and rapid, with price increases in all
sectors, dramatic rises in fuel costs, and the risk of terminal economic
recession.
In relation to the
environmental challenges to airport expansion, it points to the critical importance
to the Government of achieving their legally binding CO2 emissions targets and the
challenge that the forecast growth in air transport will pose in achieving
these targets. It refutes the claim that Newquay Airport’s
emissions can be offset against the decline in
emissions from military
operations at RAF St Mawgan. The report draws attention to the issues of local
noise and air pollution, and road congestion, all of which will worsen under
the plans.
The various claims on the
issue of emission levels from different types of transport are considered. The
most persuasive evidence is that on all measures air travel still holds prime position
as the most polluting form of transport. In addition, since most air passengers
travel to the airport by car, the inescapable conclusion is that in terms of
pollution, congestion and CO2 emissions the best outcome for the airport would
be to reduce passenger numbers.
The overview of future
decarbonisation measures in the aviation industry and the introduction of the
EU Emissions Trading Scheme illustrate a further challenge to the airport
plans. It examines the economic case for expansion. The optimistic forecast by Cornwall County Council that the airport will
become economically viable at 500,000 passengers per year is challenged. In
addition no convincing evidence is found that the airport makes an ‘essential’ contribution
to the economy of Cornwall.
The significant contribution to employment locally is over-inflated.
The report points out that
the expansion of air travel is largely confined to those on higher incomes
taking more holidays, with the number of visitors coming to Cornwall by air
still a tiny proportion of our total visitors. It concludes that in the light
of the current threat of peak oil, the damage to the environment, and the
questionable contribution to Cornwall’s
economy the case for expansion is not made. Moreover the plans send a clear
signal that Cornwall
does not take climate change seriously.
The plans will be seen by
those outside Cornwall, and increasingly by
people within Cornwall,
as self serving and short sighted.
© Groundswell Cornwall, October 2007
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