BA boss slams Tories' green credentials

Airline companies yesterday accused the Conservative Party of hypocrisy, alleging that the Tories have jumped on the environmental bandwagon in opposing a third runway at Heathrow while tacitly supporting the addition of extra capacity at other airports.

The accusation came as the Climate Change Committee published a report that did not explicitly oppose plans to expand Heathrow, but warned that measures would have to be introduced to curb the expected growth in aviation in the coming decades.

BA chief executive Willie Walsh said the Conservative policies were incoherent, arguing that Conservative opposition to new runways at Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick – the UK's three largest airports – carried no environmental benefit because the party refused to rule out expansion elsewhere.

"Their environmental credentials are seriously undermined," Walsh said at a conference hosted by the Airport Operators Association in London.

Steve Ridgway, Virgin Atlantic's chief executive, added that Tory opposition to expansion at London airports would strangle the economy.

"It is very difficult where they [the Tories] are at the moment," he said. " It is wrong in terms of what this country needs and there is a job to be done in terms of convincing them that this is the right thing to do. Somehow we have to find a way to convince them."

The comments highlight apparent inconsistencies within Conservative aviation policy, whereby the party has secured plaudits from green groups for opposing a third runway at Heathrow, while London mayor Boris Johnson has continued to toy with plans for a new airport in the Thames Estuary.

The Committee on Climate Change report concluded that technological improvements meant it may be possible to expand Heathrow, Stansted and Edinburgh airports without breaching a target to ensure emissions from the aviation industry in 2050 do not exceed 2005 levels. However, it said a high carbon price, alternative transport options, and major investments in alternative fuels would all be necessary to meet the target.

Conservative transport secretary Theresa Villiers argued that growth within the aviation industry could be effectively supported by regional airports rather than major hubs such as Heathrow.

"We have a coherent, well-thought-through and principled position on Heathrow expansion,” Villiers told the Guardian. "We very strongly believe that the environmental costs of a new runway [at Heathrow] would outweigh any potential economic benefits."