BAA to spend £9 billion to ease airport congestion

A new £9.3 billion investment plan that promises to cut air congestion in the UK has been unveiled by airport operator BAA.

BAA operates airports including Stansted and Heathrow - the latter being one of the busiest and most congested in the world. However, this massive capital investment pledge promises to improve things for both airlines and passengers.

New facilities that have been outlined include a second runway and terminal at Stansted, a major low-cost hub; a replacement for Heathrow's Terminal 2, called Heathrow East; the renovation of Heathrow's terminals 3 and 4; and a second satellite for Terminal 5, known as T5C.

"We are focused on our long-term plans to free the travelling public from congestion and provide a good experience at our airports," said BAA chief executive officer Stephen Nelson.

"The size and strength of BAA's balance sheet and our unrivalled experience in developing new airport facilities, give us great confidence that we can deliver this scale of investment on time and on budget."

He added that the plans, which will help to cope with an expected 2.8 per cent yearly air traffic rise at London airports, would require no subsidy from taxpayers.

BAA is currently facing scrutiny from the Competition Commission regarding its ownership of Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick, which critics claim represents a monopoly.

However, the company itself insists that the best way for large-scale improvements to be made at important hubs such as Heathrow is for its corporate structure to remain as it is.

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