Topic ID 578
Dear all -- just saw this on the news agency wires --- thought you should all know..... sounds like the latest threat to our peace and quiet..... FIFTH AIRPORT FOR LONDON'S SUBURBS London 0001GMT: A new proposal for London's fifth airport will be put to Britain's Department for Transport today, which could see aircraft movements over the city double within three years. The new airport would be built thirty miles (47km) north of the capital, on the site of an old military aerodrome at Panshanger in Hertfordshire. Transport chiefs have already given their backing to substantial expansion at nearby Stansted airport, though this has yet to be confirmed. But DfT spokesman Alf Stelios told Reuters "With the Panshanger plan, we might be able to avoid overdevelopment at Stansted, since about eighty million passengers could be diverted to the new airport". "This would represent a doubling of airplanes in and out of London's airports" Confirmation of the proposals is due at 1159hrs BST today.