Heathrow ad misleading

Thursday September 3, 2009

An advert claiming that a third runway at Heathrow would not make the airport dirtier or noisier has been ruled ‘misleading’.

The costly advert was placed by the pro-expansion pressure group Future Heathrow – which is backed by Heathrow’s owner BAA.

The inaccurate advertisement was published in regional papers before the Government's decision, in January 2009, to support construction of a third runway at the airport. But, following a complaint, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ordered that Future Heathrow can not repeat the misleading claims over noise and pollution.

Responding on behalf of Future Heathrow, BAA had tried to argue that the noise and dirt claim was a “statement of fact and that readers would be right to confidently understand that a third runway would definitely not create more noise or air pollution than Heathrow at present.”

However the ASA ruled that the claims that: “A third runway won't make Heathrow any noisier or dirtier” and “it won't get the green light unless local air quality meets stringent EU standards on concentrations of nitrogen dioxide", were misleading and could not be substantiated.

Councillor Nicholas Botterill, H&F Council Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “This is proof that the campaigners in favour of this massive expansion at Heathrow are being economical with the truth. BAA has been caught trying to spin their beliefs as facts. They tried to pull the wool over residents’ eyes but very few local people believe that a third runway would not lead to more noise and more pollution.”

BAA argued that the advert was justified given reassurances and safeguards on noise and pollution being demanded by the Government. But the ASA rejected these claims and found the advert had breached its code on truthfulness, substantiation and environmental claims.

A BAA press officer refused to comment on suggestions that the misleading advert had cost more than £1 million to place in regional newspapers and added that BAA was ‘bemused’ by the ASA's finding.

Banning the advert in its current form, a spokesman for the ASA said: “We noted Future Heathrow and BAA firmly believed that the noise and air limits would not be breached, but considered that the evidence we had seen was not sufficient to justify an absolute claim that noise and pollution would not increase following the construction of a third runway.

“We concluded that the claim 'a third runway won't make Heathrow any noisier or dirtier' was likely to mislead.”