IoD welcomes Heathrow decision

Dated: 15 January 2009

Commenting on the Government’s announcement today on the third runway at Heathrow, Miles Templeman Director General of the Institute of Directors (IoD) said:

“The IoD welcomes the Government’s decision to approve a third runway at Heathrow. With the current airport operating at 99% of capacity, Heathrow’s status as a global hub is under threat. A third runway is vital to maintaining the UK’s economic competitiveness, and will put us in a good position to win business from the key markets such as India and China when the upturn comes.”

“The Government’s proposals strike the right balance between maintaining the UK’s economic competitiveness and addressing the important environmental issues that it raises. It is essential that the Government’s noise and air quality targets are strictly adhered to, and that aviation plays a full part in meeting carbon reduction targets.”

“This announcement, together with the substantive package of improvements to public transport infrastructure, will not only benefit UK PLC but all users of the transport network.”

ENDS

Contact Points

Edwin Morgan
Media Relations Manager
Institute of Directors, 116 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5ED
Tel: +44 (0)20 7451 3392
Mob: +44 (0)7814 386 243
Email: edwin.morgan@iod.com
Website: www.iod.com/policy

Notes to editors

  • The Institute of Directors (IoD) was founded in 1903 and obtained a Royal Charter in 1906. The IoD is a non-party political organisation with approximately 38,000 members in the United Kingdom and overseas. Membership includes directors from right across the business spectrum – from media to manufacturing, e-business to the public and voluntary sectors. Members include CEOs of large corporations as well as entrepreneurial directors of start-up companies.
  • The IoD provides an effective voice to represent the interests of its members to key opinion-formers at the highest levels. These include Government ministers and their shadows, parliamentary committee members, senior civil servants and think-tanks. IoD policies and views are actively promoted to the national, regional and trade media. Follow us on Twitter to get the IoD’s reaction on business and public policy issues.
  • The IoD offers a wide range of business services which include business centre facilities, with ten UK centres (three in London, one each in Reading, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester, Nottingham, Norwich, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Belfast) and one in Paris, conferences, networking events, virtual offices, issues-led guides and literature, as well as free access to business information and advisory services. The IoD places great emphasis on director development and has established a certified qualification for directors – Chartered Director – as well as running specific board and director-level training and individual career mentoring programmes.
  • For further information, visit our website: www.iod.com