Southampton Airport is telling us that it needs a longer runway in order to survive, so it can attract larger planes.

London City Airport's runway is only 1508m long, some 200m shorter than Southampton's, yet they are not complaining that they are un-viable. Indeed, their latest Master Plan, published in December 2020, says they plan to expand from 5 million to 11 million passengers by the 2030s - all without extending their runway! If they can do it, why can't Southampton?

Southampton tells us there aren't enough small planes capable of using their short runway. But London City says they are intending to attract more modern small planes to their even shorter runway, which will be both quieter and capable of longer range flights.

This means that in contrast to Southampton's expansion plans which involve a massive increase in the number of people affected by noise, London City plans to expand without significantly increasing noise. And while Southampton is offering a "noise cap" that will only last until the airspace modernisation process is complete in a few years time, London City already has a noise cap and intends to stay within in it, not have it removed when its airspace is changed.

And finally, despite subjecting only two thirds the number of people to noise compared with Southampton's proposals, London City supports 50% more jobs and contributes 2.7 times as much money to the economy.

Perhaps rather than extend their runway and impose a lot more noise on long-suffering residents, Southampton's management should take a leaf out of London City's book and work within existing constraints?

Angela Cotton

Southampton