The Chief Executive Officer of Heathrow airport during an interview told aviation specialist that it is important to reduce diesel on the M4 before an additional runway is built. Mr. Colin Matthews who is set to retire as Heathrow boss in June this year said that it is important to curb pollution that is as a result of the diesel. His remarks make him the first senior official to admit that the airport is indeed facing pollution challenges. The chairman of anti expansion group commended Mr. Mathews for his honesty and for showing interest in trying to fix the air quality at Heathrow and its surroundings.
The third runway is expected to be complete and opened on the year 2026. Operations on the third runway mean additional 240,000 flights landing and departing from Heathrow. If pollution is not controlled now, it means it will be worse when the third runway is operational. Colin Matthew’s remarks echo European Union sentiments which had clearly stated that pollution legal limits must be adhered to by the year 2020. Any member that fails to comply faces being fined by the union. A spokesman at Heathrow confirmed that the largest cause of pollution around the airport is the road vehicles. The spokesman added that it would be easy to curb pollution if new standards are set for road vehicle emission and new aircraft technology is used. He defended Heathrow saying that the pollution in Central London was much worse than the levels being experienced in the airport and its surrounding.
There are campaigners who still claim that certain places at Heathrow are notorious for pollution above legal limits. They say that this is because of heavy traffic on roads and motorways around Heathrow and numerous aircrafts that use the airport every day. But replacement of diesel engines travelling on the M4 would reduce these levels significantly.