A SECOND runway at Gatwick Airport would result in "irrevocable disaster" according to Reigate MP Crispin Blunt.
The Tory MP has vehemently challenged the airport's bid to expand, saying that roads, railways, housing, schools and health services will not cope with the influx of visitors and workers.
On Tuesday, Mr Blunt spoke against Gatwick's plans at a hearing of the Davies Commission, which has been charged with recommending how the UK can increase its airport capacity.
He said a second runway would change communities and the countryside "beyond recognition".
Mr Blunt added: "To staff this vast new enterprise will require the migration of thousands of workers into the local area, flooding, probably literally, the existing infrastructure of schools, transport, health services and housing. Blithely adding to housing forecasts which are already undeliverable without loss of green belt and countryside does not answer how local communities are expected to cope with such an influx."
He estimated 30,000 more people will find themselves underneath flight paths – which are already causing misery.
Mr Blunt added transport infrastructure would be "pushed way beyond its limits" as it was already insufficient.
He said: "Gatwick is served only by a single rail and motorway connection. The airport, its passengers and its airlines are already dangerously vulnerable to disruption.
"The commuters I represent will regard it as a sick joke that this [train] line can carry significantly more passengers in peak hours when they are already standing and extra staff are being recruited to keep platforms safe at East Croydon so passengers don't spill onto the tracks.
"My question to the promoters is when anything goes wrong – air traffic control, shortage of baggage handlers, and most frequently suspension of the rail line – Gatwick collapses today. All of this gets worse as Gatwick gets bigger. How can you address this?"
The Gatwick Obviously campaign claims it would cost £7.8 billion to expand compared to £15.6 billion for a new runway at Heathrow. Its expansion would provide capacity for 260,000 extra flights a year, delivering £90 billion to the UK's economy.
But Mr Blunt said the area's labour market was "absolutely saturated" and could not provide the 122,000-person workforce needed to staff an expanded Gatwick. "The consequences will be an irrevocable disaster for those communities and these proposals are also not in the national interest," he concluded.
The public can submit comments to the Davies Commission until February 3. Its recommendations are due by the summer.
