Luton airport’s planned tube-style link to connect the airport to Luton Airport Parkway station will run 24 hours a day, giving a total journey time of less than 30 minutes from St Pancras to the airport. This is just the sort of thinking we need. It’s a mistake for the government to consider Heathrow and Gatwick as the only options for expansion. Gatwick and Heathrow serve very different markets and Gatwick is not placed to satisfy the demand that a full Heathrow may create. On the other hand, Gatwick and Luton serve very similar markets and the journey time of less than 30 minutes from London to Luton will be quicker than the journey time from London to Gatwick. It makes no sense to use huge amounts of public money to fund expansion at Gatwick when growth can be accommodated by other existing airports. And if you need another reason to back Luton’s enterprise, Luton’s majority shareholder is Luton borough council; Luton is in effect in the public ownership of the people of Luton. Compare that with Gatwick, owned by an international investment consortium.
Jane Wilson
Copthorne, East Sussex
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