'Boris Island' airport plan dumped by Davies Commission

Boris Johnson's plans for a new four-runway airport in the Thames Estuary have been categorically dumped by the Government-backed Davies Commission.

Mr Johnson’s aviation adviser called into question the efficacy of the commission, led by Sir Howard Davies, as it became clear that “Boris Island” would on Tuesday be excluded for good from an inquiry into runway expansion in the south east of England.

Despite the setback, Daniel Moylan, chief aviation adviser to London’s Mayor, suggested Mr Johnson would not surrender over a Thames Estuary airport, hinting that he would resurrect the battle next year if he gains a seat in Parliament. Mr Johnson is seeking to become the Conservative candidate for Uxbridge and South Ruislip at the next general election.

^{Proposals for a four-runway hub airport in the Thames Estuary will not be added to a short-list drawn up by the Government-backed Airports Commission. Photo: PA}

Mr Moylan said: “We strongly suspect that the Airports Commission has decided not to short-list the Estuary option. If so, it would be a sadly short-sighted decision but far from the end of the process. Airports policy has been stalled for nearly five decades, ricocheting like a billiard ball between Heathrow and Gatwick. We have one opportunity to break out of that but it seems the Commission has taken us back to the same old failed choice. The final decision will lie with the Government and the key question now is whether the Airports Commission will play much of a role in that.”

Heathrow and Gatwick are now in a two-horse race to persuade the commission that they offer the best location for Britain’s next runway but Mr Johnson has condemned both schemes.

Building a controversial third runway at Heathrow would be a “disaster” and “barbarically contemptuous”, he wrote in the Telegraph on Monday, while he has also previously dismissed Gatwick’s campaign for a second air strip as a “sham” and a “delusion”.

Mr Johnson argues that only a hub airport, which allows airlines to take advantage of transfer passengers to fill flights, will deliver the connections to fast-growing economies abroad, which Britain will need to remain competitive. Gatwick is a “point to point” airport, where the majority of passengers fly direct to their destination.

However, some in the industry point out that Boris Island was lucky to make it this far in the inquiry.

Proposals for a four-runway airport on the Isle of Grain, in the inner Thames Estuary, were left off a short-list drawn up by the Commission in December but Sir Howard, the former director of the London School of Economics, agreed to conduct further investigations into the proposal.

Several independent studies published by the commission over the summer appeared to sound the death knell for the project, though. The studies highlighted the significant environmental and financial challenges of building a hub airport on the Hoo Peninsula in the inner Thames Estuary, which is home to several protected wildlife habitats. The costs of an Estuary Airport have also been estimated at up to £112bn.

Mr Johnson is on Tuesday expected to unleash a volley of criticism against the Commission, which will report its final recommendations after the general election. His aviation adviser earlier this year accused the commission of turning the runway inquiry into an X Factor-style competition with “a touch of Simon Cowell about it”.

A new Government will be under no obligation to adopt the Commission’s findings.

Writing in the Telegraph on Monday, Mr Johnson appeared to be resigned to the fact that Boris Island would be ruled out but insisted he would not back Heathrow, despite his belief that only a hub airport can deliver the boost Britain will need to remain competitive in the global economy.