Turbulence ahead

Yesterday was a good day for planespotters and holidaymakers, but a bad one for the Nimby tendency, as the Government released plans to build new airports and runways galore: at Heathrow, in the Kent marshes, at Stansted, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Huntingdon, Bristol and Manchester.

Yesterday was a good day for planespotters and holidaymakers, but a bad one for the Nimby tendency. The Government released plans to build new airports and runways galore: at Heathrow, in the Kent marshes, at Stansted, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Huntingdon, Bristol and Manchester. Or, rather, they published "consultation documents" which have already garnered the anticipated reactions. Sir Richard Branson (Virgin Atlantic) is all for expansion, as are Sir Michael Bishop (British Midland), Rod Eddington (British Airways) and Sue Garland (British Tourist Authority). By contrast, James Botham (Birmingham Anti-Noise Campaign), Chris Corrigan (RSPB) and Charles Secrett (Friends of the Earth) are vigorously opposed, as are dozens of pressure groups across the country. And the Government? It will wait to see where there is the least resistance, and bravely go for that option in its promised White Paper.