The Special Relationship costs UK £8 mn to lengthen Newquay runway for US Air Force One
UK government allocated “at least £8 million” for lengthening the runway at Newquay airport so US President Joe Biden could land in Air Force One for the G7 summit, The Times reported.
The US President and First Lady Jill Biden arrived at Newquay airport in Cornwall shortly before 11.45 p.m. on Wednesday after the government had made changes to the runway to make sure the airport could cope with the large presidential jet.
The Times reported that the government had made a total amount of £13 million available to ensure that the conditions are prepared for Air Force One landing at the strip.
Furthermore, a large US military transporter plane carrying a fleet of Osprey aircraft required a lengthy strip to be provided.
The allocation of the money by the government took place after the local council warned the existing facilities would be unable to cope with the “needs of the aircraft types that will be arriving”.
A day after the arrival, Biden met UK PM Boris Johnson in the English seaside resort of Carbis Bay ahead of the summit.
The UK is hosting the summit, which started on Friday and will finish on Sunday, hosting world leaders from six other nations as well as representatives of the European Union.
The government is reported to have deployed hundreds of troops along with more than 5,000 police officers to provide security for the world leaders arriving in the local Devon and Cornwall.
More than 400 US Secret Service personnel are reported to be assisting UK security forces for the summit.
A report by The Guardian estimated the final bill for policing the summit would be no less than £70 million if this G7 follows the pattern of previous UK-hosted events.
The final figure is only likely to emerge many months after the summit.
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