NEWS that nearly a quarter of all passengers using Heathrow never leave the airport has angered local residents fighting proposals for a third runway.

The number of international transfer passengers using London Airports (mainly Heathrow) has risen from 3.5 million in 1992 to 21.5 million in 2000. At Heathrow 15 million out of 64 million passengers are international transfers.

Pressure group HACAN ClearSkies claim there is little evidence of significant benefits to the UK economy in facilitating Heathrow's status as a 'hub' airport, used in growing numbers by passengers who are only transferring between planes.

John Stewart, chairman of HACAN, said: "The government makes great claims about the need for Heathrow to remain a major hub airport in order to attract transfer passengers. But it hasn't the faintest idea what benefits, if any, they bring to London's economy. What we do know is that the extra flights bring noise, pollution and stress to many, many Londoners. The government seems to be colluding with the airlines to up their profits whatever the cost to London's economy and the health of the people under the flight path. Once again it is a case of British Airways asks and the government gives."

Freedom to Fly, a pressure group representing business groups, tourism and airlines say the onus is on HACAN to prove their claims. A spokesman said: "The evidence that transfer passengers benefit the economy by £1 billion a year by supporting jobs on planes, at the airport and in engineering and in the supply chain has never been disproved by HACAN.

"How can they say the environmental losses outweigh the economic benefits when they admit they don't know what the economic benefits are? If transfer passengers were not so important then why are so many European airports trying to attract more of them? Paris Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt are deliberately targeting them."

A spokesman for British Airways said: "Carrying transfer passengers brings benefits to both the consumer and the UK economy. There is a large network of support services which provides for transfer passengers. As well as jobs within the airport to look after transfer passengers there are also local businesses such as catering companies which rely on airlines transfer passengers."

BAA argued that Heathrow is successful because of the range of routes it provides. A spokesman said: "Transfer passengers make this network viable. The wide range and frequency and services available here means that more tourists come to London and the UK, more businesses choose to locate in the area and more foreign companies trade with the UK."

Mr Stewart hopes the arguments HACAN are putting forward will make the government think again about the third runway, scheduled to go out for a four month consultation in the spring.

January 31, 2003 10:30