Introduction and frequently asked questions

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Introduction

In July 2002, the Department for Transport launched a major consultation to examine and decide how our nation's air services and airports should develop over the next 30 years. This covers all parts of the U.K, as broken down on the map below. The Scottish and Welsh documents are joint with the Scottish Executive and Welsh Assembly Government.

In November 2002, the High Court held that it was wrong to exclude from the South East consultation document options for development of new runways at Gatwick. The Government has now published revised versions of the South East main and summary consultation documents, and questionnaires for all areas of the U.K, which take account of the decision to consult on options for Gatwick.

As a result, the consultation period has been extended to 30 June 2003.

For the latest information on the consultation please see the Latest news page. For queries, please telephone the enquiry line on 0845 100 5554.

This map indicates each part of the UK

The UK areas

The UK areas

Areas

  • Scotland
  • Northern Ireland
  • North of England - North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber
  • Midlands - East and West Midlands
  • Wales
  • South East and East of England
  • South West

Questions and Answers

Why is the consultation happening now?

There has been a dramatic rise in air travel over the last decade. This is expected to continue and we forecast a threefold increase in demand for air travel by the year 2030. At the same time, some of the the UK's airports are reaching their capacity limits. The airports in the South East of England are particularly overcrowded.

In order to tackle these airport capacity issues, the Government needs to look ahead to how the industry can be developed in a sustainable way. The Government's aim is to develop a long-term framework that will maximise the beneficial aspects of aviation and minimise the negative effects. The framework will be set out in a new air transport White Paper. This consultation is a key step towards the new White Paper.

Who should be interested?

These decisions may affect you if:

  • You or your family use business or leisure air travel or plan to do so in the future
  • You or your family live near an airport or under a flightpath
  • You or your family are employed at an airport or in a related industry
  • You have views on the economic or environmental impacts of aviation

What do the consultation documents seek to cover?

Each consultation document:

  • Examines options for the future development of the airports in that area
  • Examines the potential impacts of these options, such as their economic, environmental and social implications
  • Includes information that sets the national context

What types of documents are available?

For each area of the UK, there is:

  • A main consultation document - this explains in details the options for each airport and their implications, and contains a set of detailed questions at the end of the document;
  • A summary consultation document - this summarises the main consultation document;
  • An NOP questionnaire - this is a tick-box questionnaire;
  • Background documents - these are the technical reports of the studies which have informed this consultation. For details of how these can be viewed please see the individual pages.

Translations

  • If you require assistance in translating either the summary consultation documents or the NOP questionnaires please contact the call centre on 0845 100 5554.