Heathrow-funded group sending 'incredibly misleading' mail to homes across west London, campaigners allege

A run radical for a 3rd runway astatine Heathrow that gets backing from the airdrome has been distributing "incredibly misleading" accusation to households successful westbound London, according to opponents of the expansion.

The group, called Back Heathrow, sent leaflets to radical surviving adjacent the airport, claiming enlargement could beryllium the way to a "greener" airdrome and suggesting it would mean lone the "cleanest and quietest aircraft" alert there.

It comes arsenic the airdrome prepares to taxable its readying exertion for a third runway up of the 31 July deadline, pursuing the government's connection of support for the expansion.

Back Heathrow calls itself a "local run radical of implicit 100,000 residents" and does not notation the backing it receives from the airdrome successful the newsletter.

Its website besides does not notation the existent fiscal enactment and says it "initially launched with backing from Heathrow Airport but we person since grown".

Back Heathrow besides told Sky News it had "always been open" astir the enactment it receives from the airport.

At the bottommost of each web page, the organisation says: "Back Heathrow is simply a radical of residents, businesses and assemblage groups who person travel unneurotic to support the jobs that trust connected Heathrow and to run for its unafraid future."

Heathrow Airport said it had ever been wide astir backing Back Heathrow, but would not disclose however overmuch it provides.

Who's down Back Heathrow?

The group's enforcement manager is erstwhile Labour curate Parmjit Dhanda, who was MP for Gloucester from 2001 to 2010 and sits connected the National Policy Forum - the assemblage liable for processing Labour policy.

Latest accounts for Back Heathrow amusement it had 5 employees, including its 2 directors, successful the fiscal twelvemonth ending 30 June 2024. The 2nd manager is John Braggins, a erstwhile run advisor to Tony Blair.

The concern had £243,961 successful cash, the accounts show.

What are the radical saying?

In the newsletter, enforcement manager Mr Dhanda said radical inquire if Heathrow is sustainable. In answering the question, helium appeared to suggest the airdrome tin dictate what types of planes usage Heathrow.

"We tin physique a cleaner, greener and smarter airdrome - utilizing much sustainable aviation fuel, ensuring lone the cleanest and quietest craft alert here, trim stacking successful our skies and modernise our airspace to chopped emissions successful flight," helium wrote.

When asked by Sky News what Back Heathrow meant and what the root for the assertion was, the organisation pointed to the airport's postulation airy strategy of sound and emanation measurements for the 50 largest airlines serving Heathrow.

"The strategy helps to spot what areas definite airlines are excelling successful and wherever improvements tin beryllium made," a spokesperson said.

But those "cleaner and greener" claims were dismissed arsenic "myths" by 1 campaigner.

Finlay Asher is an aerospace technologist and co-founder of Safe Landing, a radical of aviation workers and enthusiasts seeking clime improvements successful the industry.

He said the emissions savings from sustainable aviation substance (SAF) were "highly debatable" - but added that adjacent if they were taken astatine look value, usage of these fuels is "relatively low" and truthful lone provides tiny emissions reductions.

"Air postulation maturation astatine Heathrow volition hitch this out," helium said.

Mr Asher besides disputed the assertion that lone the cleanest and quietest craft volition alert astatine Heathrow. "There is nary argumentation successful spot which prevents older procreation craft from being operated retired of immoderate airport," helium said.

As for reducing "stacking" - wherever craft hold implicit an airdrome to onshore - Mr Asher said if that's the goal, "adding much craft to the entity won't marque this easier".

Opposition to Back Heathrow's claims besides came from Rob Barnstone, founding subordinate of the No Third Runway Coalition, which is funded by 5 section authorities surrounding Heathrow Airport.

He said that careless of substance efficiencies oregon caller quieter engines, having the further 260,000 flights Heathrow has said volition beryllium created with an other runway - successful summation to the airport's existent headdress of 480,000 - would make "an atrocious batch of noise".

"For each the champion volition successful the world, Heathrow is simply a very, very, precise noisy neighbour... When you're adding a 4th of a cardinal further flights, that's going to make an atrocious batch of emissions, adjacent if they're utilizing planes that are ever truthful somewhat little environmentally damaging than erstwhile planes," Mr Barnstone said.

Green claims

Under the heading of "UK sustainable substance manufacture for Heathrow", Back Heathrow said "advances successful electrical and hydrogen powered craft tin guarantee we conscionable our biology targets".

Elaborating connected this, Back Heathrow told Sky News: "Zero-emission electrical and hydrogen craft are precise overmuch the extremity end for civilian aviation and countries similar Norway person acceptable 2040 arsenic the twelvemonth that each of their short-haul flights volition beryllium by electrical planes."

The connection was called "incredibly misleading" by Dr Alex Chapman, elder economist astatine the left-leaning deliberation vessel New Economics Foundation (NEF).

"There's conscionable perfectly nary assurance that those craft are going to person immoderate meaningful interaction connected emissions and commercialized aviation successful immoderate tenable clip frame. And, yeah, we tin each speculate arsenic to what whitethorn not hap successful 50 years' time. But I deliberation the radical surviving astir the airdrome should beryllium fixed the accusation astir what's really realistic."

Even if the exertion were available, the runway whitethorn not beryllium acceptable for it, Dr Chapman said.

"Perhaps much importantly, there's been nary denotation truthful acold that the projected caller runway is being built to cater for those types of aircraft, due to the fact that a runway that caters to electrical, hydrogen powered craft would beryllium precise antithetic to 1 that was for accepted fuel, peculiarly successful presumption of the fuelling infrastructure astir it that would beryllium required: pipes to tube hydrogen, monolithic charging powerfulness facilities."

While enactment is nether mode to make electrical aircraft, determination are presently nary commercialized electrical flights taking place. The best-case script is battery-powered flights that whitethorn beryllium suitable for short journeys.

But arsenic a large planetary airport, much than 40% of Heathrow's flights are long-haul and medium-haul.

And portion airlines specified arsenic easyJet person called for authorities backing to make hydrogen flying suitable for short-haul flights, determination are obstacles to making regular commercialized flights a reality.

Providing capable hydrogen for the level journeys from renewable sources volition beryllium challenging, arsenic volition transporting the fuel, and reworking airdrome infrastructure for hydrogen refuelling.

Plans for hydrogen craft are astatine slightest a decennary away, with Airbus saying it wants to get a 100-seat hydrogen level successful the aerial by 2035 - though Back Heathrow's estimates for a 3rd runway person flights taking disconnected successful 2034.

For now, rising emissions from flying are risking the UK's clime targets, according to the autarkic authorities advisers of the Climate Change Committee, who recovered flights lend much greenhouse state than the full energy proviso sector.

Expanding astatine 'full capacity'

On the archetypal leafage of the newsletter, Back Heathrow says "Heathrow is astatine afloat capacity", but the institution told Sky News the airdrome has been "operating astatine 98% capableness since 2005".

Despite its 98% capacity, Heathrow Airport has breached rider fig records each twelvemonth for the past 14 years - excluding the pandemic years of 2020 to 2023.

Dr Chapman said Heathrow is astatine capableness regarding the government-imposed formation cap, not astatine the capableness of the existent runway infrastructure.

"So if the authorities were, for example, to assistance that headdress connected the fig of craft movements, it's beauteous apt that they could really alert 10% to 20% much flights retired of the existing infrastructure," helium said.

As aeroplanes person expanded to transportation much passengers, the airdrome has welcomed much people, helium added.

The airdrome earlier this period announced plans to summation its capableness by 10 cardinal passengers a year, earlier a 3rd runway is built, and to rise the complaint paid by passengers to money the investment.

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How person the radical and the airdrome responded?

A Heathrow spokesperson said: "Back Heathrow represents tens of thousands of section radical who privation to marque their views known connected the value of Heathrow to their communities and livelihoods contiguous and into the future.

"We person ever been wide that, alongside idiosyncratic residents, section concern groups and commercialized unions, we supply backing for Back Heathrow to supply a dependable for section radical who historically person not been heard successful the statement astir expanding Heathrow."

Speaking for the run group, Mr Dhanda said: "At Back Heathrow we are arrogant of our nexus to Heathrow Airport (the hint is successful the name).

"We person ever been unfastened astir the information that we person enactment from the airdrome and that they helped acceptable the organisation up to equilibrium the statement astir enlargement astatine a clip erstwhile the voices of mean moving radical from the divers communities astir Heathrow were not being heard."

"Back Heathrow besides receives enactment from commercialized unions, section businesses and residents from amongst the 100,000 registered supporters it present has," helium added.

"We privation an extremity to the dither and delay. Back Heathrow supporters privation to spot economical maturation and the thousands of caller jobs and apprenticeships a caller runway volition create."