London city mayor Boris Johnson has dimmed any hope on any expected expansion at the London city airport. While declining permission the mayor alluded to the fact that the said expansion would affect thousands of people through increased noise and air pollution in east London. The £200 million scheme by London City Airportincluded an increase of 50% of flights. This he said was an unacceptable burden of pollution being thrown in the face of east London residents. The mayor stuck to his original proposition to have a hub airport to the east ofLondon, so called Boris Island Hub airport. A proposition that has already been thrown out once by the civil aviation authority.
It is the mayor’s belief that neither west Londoners nor east Londoners should be burdened with pollution hence his proposition for an airport at the Thames estuary.
The Mayors decision although welcomed by campaign groups was criticised by the Mayor of Newham as political posturing on the part of Boris Johnson. Newham’s mayor, sir robin said this was politics getting in the way of good policy. In complete disregard of the more than 2000 jobs that the expansion at London city airport would bring and investments, Mr Johnson is chasing votes of Uxbridge residents. This electioneering will cost the economy more than £750 million yearly revenues and untold environmental improvements.
Under the proposal, seven new aircraft stands were to be introduced and the number of flights increased from 70,000 to 111,000 thereby increasing the number of passengers to six million annually by the year 2023.
In a swift rejoinder, Mayor Boris Johnson, said Sir Robin does not speak for the people of east London and wrote to him a directive, to refuse approval of the airports planning application.