Ok, ok - getting the tube to Heathrow's shiny new Terminal 5, which opened for business today, is not going to do much to reduce the impact of your carbon footprint when you're going to get in a plane that pumps out many tonnes of noxious emissions anyway.
What is notable is the fact Transport for London have managed to get their act together and extend the Piccadilly Line in time for today's grand opening.
People who get the tube to Heathrow do it to save money or avoid traffic, not because it is a more environmentally friendly way to travel. Why can't we concentrate on improving the reach and efficiency of all our public transport systems between say, work and home, or from cities to out of the way coastal areas, instead of developing them to help people fly more frequently with more ease?
The very concept of the terminal would not seem out of place in a sci-fi thriller, in which the baddies build a huge new structure to generate more of the poison that is killing the human race, and end up inadvertently killing themselves in the process.
In the meantime I expect some of those who have spent years campaigning against this £4.3bn expansion may have been amused to see that its maiden voyage, a BA flight to Paris, arrived without any baggage whatsoever, and the airline had cancelled 20 flights by 1pm today due to "teething problems" such as "staff familiarisation".
oh this is so British; of course it has to go wrong - any other country in the world would not have this happening maybe we should teach the airport workers to speak English first
Posted by: lorrie | Thursday, 27 March 2008 at 08:08 PM