Farewell Boris Island: Why was it scrapped?

Costs of up to £112 billion, fog and damage to local wildlife are all possible reasons why a new airport island in the Thames Estuary was scrapped

Boris' island dreams got crushed yesterday

Yesterday was a sad day for London Mayor Boris Johnson, when his plans for a new Airport Island on the Thames Estuary were dumped by the Government-backed Davies Commission.

To cope with increased strain on airports, Gatwick and Heathrow have been in a two-horse race to get an extra runway each; a second for Gatwick or a third for Heathrow.


Testrad Boris Island
Space age: But plans for 'Boris Island' have been put on the backburner

Johnson is heavily against an expansion of either airport, labelling the very idea a 'delusion'. Instead, he offered his dream of a six-runway airport on an island in the Thames, furnished with high-speed transport links to bring travellers from dry land

Which option is the MOST delusional?

Boris Island is by far the most expensive out of the three options. It would be cheaper for the Mayor to buy his own private island in Fiji if he likes islands so much!

Photo: privateislandsonline.com

This Fiji island only costs £25 million, compared to Boris Island's £112 billion. To expand Gatwick would cost £9 billion, whereas to expand Heathrow would cost £18 billion.

Cost (£ billions)

But it's not all about cost

We also have to consider the practical implications of each scenario. Here are the main issues posed by Boris Island:

  • Fog. Boris Island is three times more likely to be affected by fog than the current Heathrow airport. Obviously this would affect pilots' ability to land.
  • The chicks don't dig it. The RSPB has issued a statement,condemning plans for the island airport, arguing that it will destroy the habitat of protected birds. The Thames Estuary is used by 300,000 migratory birds and is home to one of Europe's internationally protected habitats. Building the airport would cause environmental damage and possibly damage the future for these birds.
  • Lack of local support. 96.2% of surveyed local residents opposed the plans.
  • Cost. We have to ask whether this is the best use of public money, when benefit cuts are still killing UK residents. It's 14x more expensive to build this airport than it is to expand Gatwick.

What did Boris have to say?

Boris, who is standing as an MP for nearby Uxbridge, has been arguing that expanding Heathrow would harm local residents with noise pollution, claiming that Heathrow is the noisiest airport in Europe.

Even though a government-backed commission threw out his plans, Johnson has decided to keep fighting against the expansion of London's airports- and it's speculated that he will KEEP ON fighting for Boris Island if he gets elected an MP.