GALBA comments on LBA terminal upgrade

Nice upgrade but don’t increase flight numbers

LBA’s upgrade to the existing passenger terminal (LBA officially opens brand new terminal extension) is not an issue for GALBA. Any reduction, however small, in the polluting greenhouse gases from the airport’s ground operations is welcome news.

The problem is LBA’s obsession with increasing the number of flights. 95% of LBA’s climate pollution comes from the planes using the airport.

So more flights can only mean more pollution to our climate and the air we breathe. And of course more noise, especially at night, means more harm to the health of people who live under the flight path. Expanding night time flying is central to LBA’s strategy.

In February, the experts on the Climate Change Committee said that for aviation to have any chance of reaching net zero emissions, there must be no more than a 10% rise in passenger numbers by 2040. LBA wants 143%.

That is simply irresponsible. It’s our children and grandchildren who will suffer the consequences of climate breakdown. We can leave a better world for them but only if we make the right choices today. Increasing climate pollution by allowing more planes is the wrong choice.

Nick Hodgkinson

Chair of GALBA