Your leader on the future location of airports (Flight International, 27 November - 3 December) was timely. It is not just the environment but safety which must be considered. After the Concorde crash I asked myself what the public reaction would have been had it occured during a take-off from Heathrow when the wind was from the east. The more recent crash in a residential area of New York adds to the debate.
Airport planning cannot be divorced from other planning or the provision of integrated transport. Having developed business areas to the east of London, the government now realises that it needs the expensive CrossRail to provide the connecting services for passengers.
We need strategic planning to cover all aspects, not a collection of disparat, often conflicting plans proposed by individuals motivated largely by self interest.
Anthony Phillips
Salisbury, UKSource: Flight International
