Simon Laffin, chairman of Flybe, has called on the UK government to open up RAF Northolt for domestic flights to help address Heathrow’s capacity problems. Flybe is seeking permission to launch five domestic routes from the airport located in west London, which is currently used by military aircraft and private jets, to Inverness, Teesside and Liverpool.
The Ministry of Defence has refused in the past to consider opening up Northolt. Rothwell Aviation originally proposed for the extension of Northolt’s runway for use by short-haul aircraft from 2018, with Heathrow remaining the airport of choice for long-range aircraft but it was rejected. Flybe’s suggestion however only proposed flying five routes from the airport, which could replace an equivalent number of existing private jet movements keeping Northolt’s flights to the current level of 12,000 a year.
Flybe’s proposal also suggests adding a fast bus link to Heathrow, 10 miles away.