UK forwarders latest to urge action on runway decision

UK forwarder association the British International Freight Association (BIFA) has backed a Transport Committee report urging the government to make a decision over airport expansion.

BIFA director general Robert Keen said that the 1,500 companies within BIFA share the Transport Committee’s belief that the delay risks damaging UK economic growth by deterring investors uncertain about the future of Britain’s communications.

"BIFA agrees with the Transport Committee that the UK must stop ‘dithering’, make a decision and set out a timetable for completing the project," he said.

“We have already stated that last December’s announcement to delay a decision on the matter, was about political expediency, not environmental matters."

BIFA added that like the Transport Committee it accepts that the package of measures to mitigate environmental impacts needs careful consideration and further work.
But it said it does not accept that all of this needs to be done before a decision is taken on location.
Keen added: “As the Transport Committee states, the detailed and evidence-based work of the Airports Commission on environmental issues provides an ideal starting point for any further work on environmental issues to be undertaken in parallel with the other pre-construction work.

“The absence of a decision on location creates uncertainty, which is exacerbated by the lack of clarity the government has created about exactly when a decision will be taken.

“Five months on, the UK’s freight forwarding community, which is the engine of Britain’s international trade, is still waiting for the Government to stop playing political football with the issue of aviation capacity and make a decision”.