Extension will ease pollution

ANGELA Cotton’s letter (July 23rd) is asking people to fly less.

Hopefully in the long term they will but in the meantime we must make the infrastructure as efficient as possible so as to save carbon emissions.

For perhaps a million people living across the south, by the time they take to get to Heathrow or Gatwick they will be in the air by using Southampton Airport.

By the time they have taken off from those airports, they will have arrived in Majorca.

Even from central London, similar savings can be made.

Flight times from Southampton are often less and with considerably less travelling to those airports, there are considerable savings in carbon emissions.

By extending the runway by less than half the distance from the Bargate to West Quay shopping centre, the same planes will be able to carry more fuel and go further so we can get to Venice rather than Verona.

Probably saving pollution from traffic in those areas.

If all such local airports were upgraded then possibly the massive extension of Heathrow could be binned.

The loss of the trees can be overcome by planting 10 for every one cut down.

It will take time for people to always fly less so the runway extension will save pollution in the short and long term.

Idris Curtis

Netley Abbey