Airport saga

THE debate on Enterprise Stansted is set to boldly go where no person has gone before – well into 2008, according to the great Mr Morgan. This tedious saga is riddled with paradox. A parochial airport with vast ambition relying on cozy cross subsidy at th

THE debate on Enterprise Stansted is set to boldly go where no person has gone before - well into 2008, according to the great Mr Morgan. This tedious saga is riddled with paradox.

A parochial airport with vast ambition relying on cozy cross subsidy at the expense of rivals, zero fuel tax, car parks, revenue and sponsored coffee hardly inspires confidence as an international future player?

Mr O'Leary of Ryanair backs G2 yet calls for Ferrovial to flog off 'Stansted and her Sisters' (Heathrow and Gatwick) in order to compete in the real world. This could lead to further environmental damage but maybe not? Ole.

Blair, with all the depth of a small puddle, bleats, "I know, you know it means pain but you must have it." Onions and tears all round.

Yet he knows the Greens are onto something, allowing for changes in temperature, our high levels of pollution do not help nature to heal.

Still dependent on fossil fuels and conventional engines, it may be years before radical new means of propulsion leading even to vertical take off airliners might obviate the need for most runways.

But is urbanisation and industrialisation inevitable? Why can't we re-examine offshore projects - they're good enough for Hong Kong and Japan. Why not use rail?

The current non-pc fest goes for easy, fashionable targets like smoking, while deliberately avoiding the far more serious issue of global warming for fear of frightening voters by restricting pleasure flights.

Given our 'new' weather, why do people swelter for days in terminals in the hope of reaching some crypto-Brit Med resort complete with 'Brit pub' when they can get all that in dear old Margate?

J Howarth

Debden Road

Saffron Walden