Opening address

I am very pleased to have the honour of opening this important Conference. I should like to congratulate the Institution of Civil Engineers for organizing the Conference and the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Royal Aeronautical Society, the Chartered Institute of Transport, the British Airports Authority, the Royal Town Planning Institute, the Aerodrome Owners' Association and the American Society of Civil Engineers for sponsoring the Conference.

This illustrious list of sponsors, together with the distinguished list of speakers and guests and the many organizations represented at this Conference, demonstrates not only the great importance that aviation and airports have come to have in life but also the many sidedness of the airport planning process. This now engages a multitude of different disciplines and professions and leads to an involvement in a wide variety of other planning activities, all of which have to be co-ordinated before long-term decisions can be taken. Inevitably the lead time for major airport development decisions is extended and in many cases plans for new major international airports made today cannot come to fruition within the 1970s. In this sense, as the title of this Conference suggests, the 80s are already here.