Ken Livingstone opposes air travel

The former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, who to his credit backed the Olympic bid, but was strongly against London City Airport, seems to have little knowledge of the tourism industry and its contribution to the country's economy.

Last week he told BBC Radio 4, as reported by the Evening Standard, that Britain must "live within" its airport capacity and it is important to "reduce the amount of holiday traffic," criticism which is hardly likely to gain him votes in next year’s Mayoral election.  He attacked "people who … are quite well-off taking more and more short haul holidays.  No one in their right minds would get a plane to Paris or Brussels," he said.  Last year 1.6m people flew between Paris and London and just over half a million connected via Brussels.

Mr Livingstone said Boris Johnson's estuary airport idea was "a grotesque waste of energy," a comment which he is entitled to make.  No alternative was suggested. www.kenlivingstone.com

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