Comment: If Ross's runway review results in delays, few will thank him
Ross has set out on a path well travelled by his doppelganger Boris Johnson, writes Fearghal O'Connor
If transport minister Shane Ross wants a crash course in the politics of runways, he need look no further than his political doppelganger Boris Johnson.
Both outsiders in their own cabinets, the two posh populists have regularly been the subject of the most colourful political headlines in their respective jurisdictions in recent months. Now, with the launch of an independent review into the need fora new runway at Dublin Airport, Ross has set course on a path well travelled by Johnson.
London faces a growing congestion crisis at its airports and Johnson has been a central figure in the debate that rages around how to solve the problem. As Mayor of London he proposed a new airport at Shivering Sands in the Thames Estuary that has become known as Boris Island. His hostile opposition to an almost £20 billion alternative expansion at Heathrow has made him a central figure in a debate that has dragged on for many years with no resolution.
Just last week Johnson said that the massive costs and enormous risks of the Heathrow plan mean it’s undeliverable.
“While we are finding this out our international competitors will be further extending their competitive advantage over us. We need to consign this Heathrow fantasy to the dustbin. We need a better solution,” he said.
One of those international competitors for aviation traffic, particularly on the lucrative transatlantic market, is, of course, Dublin. The inability to expand capacity in London, and the endless debate in which Johnson is a key protagonist, is almost certainly one of the reasons that spurred British Airways owner IAG to buy Dublin-based Aer Lingus.
But asDublin pushes towards 27 million passengers, it faces its own congestion problems that must be solved if it is to properly capitalise on the opportunity presented by London’s massive constraints.
If Ross’s move to launch an independent review on Dublin’s own runway plans results in delays to the project, few in Ireland’s aviation sector will thank the minister.
Memories of how minister after minister flip flopped and prevaricated over the building of Terminal 2 at a time when the airport was bursting at the seams will make stakeholders in the Irish aviation sector nervous about any such review. In times past, dusty independent reviews by expensive consultants piled up while the facilities at the airport grew increasingly crowded.
Of course, DAA’s proposed runway already has planning permission to go ahead so, on the face of it, no such review should be needed and could lead to unnecessary delays to the €320 million project. New EU rules should allow noise restrictions imposed as part of that permission to be lifted.
In reality Ross’s announcement of a review is most likely designed to head off any difficulties the new runway could face, as well as to lay the groundwork for a future new terminal.
It’s a chance for Ross to break the cycle of bad news that has followed him around since his ministerial appointment. But he won’t need Boris Johnson to tell him that if he gets it wrong, aviation politics can become a very expensive mess indeed.
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