Green supporters have demanded schemes to expand Edinburgh Airport to be withdrawn in the face of record high levels of the prices of oil, according to the Scotsman.
As per its published master plan, the airport could nearly treble by the year 2030, with land being set aside for a possible second airstrip and the Highland Showground being pushed to move to permit the airport operator BAA to construct yet another airport parking.
According to estimates, around 22.5 million travellers a year will be passing through Edinburgh Airport by the year 2030, assuming that the prices of oil today are just $60 per barrel.
However, the research by WWF-an environmental charity-has revealed that millions of travellers will be put off travelling through air due to higher fares as a result of higher prices of oil.
Director WWF Scotland, Dr. Richard Dixon, said, "The projections for passenger numbers are pie in the sky, based on estimated oil prices which border on the fantastical. Given how dodgy the Government's figures are, every airport in the UK needs to look again at their own plans for expansion.
The planet can't afford and Edinburgh doesn't need an additional runway. Instead we should be helping cut climate-wrecking air travel wherever possible".
A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport said, "Our long-term forecasts are based on a wide range of economic factors, of which the price of oil is just one. They suggest that passenger numbers will continue to grow at Edinburgh over the period".
