BIGGIN HILL Airport boss Jenny Munro last night assured households that jumbo jets would not be landing anytime soon.
Ms Munro also told the Biggin Hill and District Residents’ Association that were the airport allowed to extend its opening hours for next year’s Olympics, it would not be used as a precedent for future changes.
She said: “There's no legal weight behind (a precedent).
“If there's fear of it being used as a precedent then I'd rather there's a legal finding to say it can be used as a precedent.”
Four months into her role as managing director, Ms Munro said the Olympics was a “seven and half week wonder” which offered a great business opportunity for future investment at Biggin Hill.
She said: “We have travel organisations who would like to come at 8am seven days a week. If they can't on Saturday or Sunday they will go somewhere else for seven days. As an airport we'd lose out on that.
“On that aircraft would be people who have not come to Biggin before, such as sponsors of international teams.
“These are high level business people in Europe flying in. We're showing them our part of the country, our airport and we're showing them how easy it is to connect to London from here.
“I would look to them to come back to Biggin in future. I have seen that happen already with visitors who come into us. That's the kind of business we want to keep winning.”
Ms Munro added: “One plane is a make or break for us in terms of monthly budget. If we lose one plane from here that might be £10,000 a month.”
Allaying fears the airport could play host to larger aircraft, Ms Munro said: “It’s physically not possible for jumbo jets.
“What really troubled me (at Bromley Council’s meeting where the airport’s initial proposal to extend operating hours was rejected) was the number of councillors concerned about development and things running out of control in terms of bigger jets and traffic on the roads. That was misinformed. 747s can't happen at Biggin Hill.”
Ms Munro also denied the airport was trying to use the Olympics to circumvent the current lease with landlord Bromley Council.
She said: “It's a temporary variation to the terms of the lease. The lease is not being changed. We are not trying through these Olympics to do anything on the lease.
“The day (the Olympics end) we will go back to the existing hours. It won't be the case of we started so we will carry on.”
Ms Munro also pledged her support to plans to open a military heritage centre at Biggin Hill to remember the role it played during the first and second world wars.
She said: “I want to understand how the airport can help and contribute to the heritage centre.
“Do we want a heritage centre? I would say yes.
“It's another example of getting people on the same page.
“If everyone's working together that heritage centre can happen.”
WHAT THE PROPOSALS ARE
The airport currently opens from 6.30am to 10pm weekdays and 9am and 8pm at weekends.
It wishes to keep the same opening hours during the week but lift one-way traffic restrictions during the first and last hours.
It also wants to open at 8am at weekends, close at 9pm on Saturdays and 10pm on Sundays.
There will be no fare paying passengers.
The proposals are for the periods encompassing the Olympics and Paralympics from July 13 to August 19 and from August 28 to September 12.
No comments:
Post a Comment