Editing London Stansted Airport (section)

=== Runway ===
==== Plans for a second runway ====
On 11 March 2008, BAA submitted a planning application (titled "G2") to expand the airport by {{convert|3|sqmi|0|abbr=on}} and for the construction of a second runway and terminal, etc., in line with a recommendation in the [[Air transport and the environment (United Kingdom)#Airport development strategy|2003 Air Transport White Paper]] (ATWP). This would have been the subject of a public inquiry, and if approved, would have allowed Stansted to handle more passengers than Heathrow did at the time of the application.<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 March 2008 |title=£2.5bn Stansted Generation 2 planning bid submitted |url=http://www.transportbriefing.co.uk/story.php?id=4781 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007053448/http://www.transportbriefing.co.uk/story.php?id=4781 |archive-date=7 October 2008 |publisher=Transport Briefing |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In May 2010, BAA withdrew its plans to build a second runway at Stansted and withdrew the plans to build a new runway at Heathrow.<ref name="withdraw2">BBC News: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8701433.stm Heathrow and Stansted runway plans scrapped by BAA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527074803/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8701433.stm|date=27 May 2010}}, 24 May 2010. Visited 20 June 2011.</ref>

The ATWP had anticipated that a second runway would be operational by 2011, but this date continued to slip. BAA's 2008 planning application envisaged operation commencing in 2015, and in 2009, BAA revised the anticipated opening date to 2017.

Prior to the United Kingdom's May 2010 general election, all three major political parties pledged not to approve a second runway. Soon after the election, the new government confirmed this, and BAA withdrew its application for planning permission, having spent nearly £200&nbsp;million preparing for the public inquiry and buying up properties.

The public inquiry into BAA's second runway application had been scheduled to start on 15 April 2009, but the start was delayed by Secretary of State [[Hazel Blears]] to allow time for BAA and the government to consider the implications of the March 2009 Competition Commission's ruling that BAA must sell Stansted within two years. As 2011 drew to a close, BAA was still appealing against the Competition Commission ruling. On 20 August 2012, after losing a case at the Court of Appeal, BAA agreed to cease challenging the Competition Commission's ruling and to sell Stansted.

On 10 February 2010, Secretary of State [[John Denham (politician)|John Denham]], in an open letter, concluded that the inquiry could not reasonably start until after the general election. In addition, he commented that the planning application documents were nearly two years old and would require updating. Eventually, BAA realised the futility of pursuing its G2 application in the context of the new government policy and withdrew it on 24 May 2010.<ref name="withdraw2" />

==== Stop Stansted Expansion ====
The [[advocacy group]] Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE) was formed in 2002, as a working group of the North West Essex and East Herts Preservation Association, in response to the Government's consultation on expanding UK airports and, particularly, runway expansion plans for Stansted Airport subsequently defined in the Air Transport white paper in December 2003.<ref>[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100519093443/http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/strategy/whitepapers/air/ (ARCHIVED CONTENT) The Future of Air Transport – White Paper and the Civil Aviation Bill]. Webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 August 2013.</ref> In September 2012, as a result of pressure from the aviation industry, the government set up the Airports Commission, chaired by Sir Howard Davies, to consider what, if anything, needed to be done to maintain the UK's status as a global aviation hub. The commission concluded that an additional runway would be required for South East England and that it should be added to either Heathrow or Gatwick. Following the 2015 election, the commission made a final recommendation to expand Heathrow subject to certain environmental constraints.<ref>[https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/airports-commission Airports Commission] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130720003250/https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/airports-commission|date=20 July 2013}}. GOV.UK. Retrieved 16 August 2013.</ref>