So, the decision has finally been made to extend Heathrow, destroying Gatwick’s dreams of enlargement, and no one is even mentioning the option of going back and turning Maplin Sands into a vast runway. This was a plan decades ago – back in the 1970s – to have a new airport on the edge of the sea on the Thames estuary, which was a very exciting idea at the time. I remember it, because I was on the board of British Airports at the time, and recall gazing in awe at the marvellous statues and imaginative structures we were shown to demonstrate the effect that such a thing would have on the estuary and the tides and even possibly buildings.
Of course, Boris Johnson tried to bring back this idea, just off the Isle of Grain. It was deemed too excessive. No doubt enlarging Heathrow is sensible, but it would have been interesting to see what a seagoing airport would be like.
In the original Maplin Sands idea, there was going to be a big port as well. It might have led to whole new type of tourism – one in which you didn’t know if you were going to fly or swim. It might have led to a place where the airport was actually a delightful part of your holiday, instead of the tiresome bit you have to endure at the beginning and end as things are now.
When Theresa May said the decision to favour Heathrow was made for the sake of jobs and growth she was not thinking of the holidaymaker, with or without children. I only ever thought of them in my time at British Airports – and I was ticked off for it. I sometimes asked why the others were only thinking of single men with one briefcase. Ah, well… So it goes.
What do you think? Have your say below
