Heathrow's third runway will present island with opportunities
SO THE UK government has announced that the third runway for Heathrow will proceed. They have also said that in announcing this decision, the UK is sending a message to Europe and to the world that the UK is open for business. Courage and vision for the future many years ahead is important. A new runway at Heathrow will present opportunities for new landing slots to be negotiated and applied for. Guernsey and the Guernsey people lost the slots and connectivity to Heathrow many years ago. Business, finance and tourism have said that this hub would be of great benefit to the island for the long-term future.
To negotiate and discuss future connectivity to Heathrow, the States of Guernsey should consider which airline operator/operators would give Guernsey and the Guernsey people the best possible service in terms of value for the long-term future. To negotiate this from a position of strength and flexibility, it would make sense to extend our runway in Guernsey so that we are in a position to accommodate any of the types of aircraft the operator/operators would want to use in order to offer a reliable and cost-effective service. This may or may not be any of the current operators.
This opportunity may never come around again and we do need to look long term for Guernsey and the Guernsey people. We also need to send out the message to the UK, Europe and the world that we are open for business.
NORMAN JACKSON,
Le Puits Devant,
Les Jehans,
Torteval,
GY8 0RJ.
