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Businesses backing Heathrow with airport decision due today

After years of political wrangling the decision on South East airport expansion is finally set to be made today following a meeting of the cabinet’s airports subcommittee this morning.

A third runway at Heathrow, an expansion to an existing runway or an additional runway at Gatwick are the three options on the table.

The outcome of that meeting, which is widely tipped to fall in favour of a third runway at Heathrow, is likely to be announced by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling when he makes a statement to MPs in the House of Commons around lunchtime.

The tale does not end there, however.

Following the decision a further year of consultation will take place to iron out the finer points of the government’s proposals before the inevitable flood of legal challenges from local residents, environmental campaigners and airport rivals.

Speaking to the BBC this morning, Douglas McNeill, senior transport analyst at Macquarie Investment Bank, said that it would take ‘some political brilliance’ for the government to finally get a third runway approved, such is the tangled political and legal web.

The government is also facing opposition from within its own cabinet with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson a long-time opponent, while former Mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith has vowed to resign from the Tory Party, trigger a byelection and run as an independent in his Richmond constituency if expansion at Heathrow is confirmed.

The decision is likely to be a disappointing one for Gatwick Airport, which has enjoyed significant growth in the last few years, adding 50 long haul routes and 20 short haul routes in the last year alone, on the back of a string of record months.

What is clear is that Heathrow has the backing of a broad spectrum of the business world, with business groups such as the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) particularly critical of the government’s near decade of dithering on the issue.

The London airport has long championed the support of the business community, and some other regional airports, for a third runway, with its emphasis on exports to global markets taking on even greater emphasis following June’s EU referendum.

Commenting in 2015 upon the Airport Commission’s recommendation that expansion at Heathrow should be given the go ahead, the BCC left little doubt about which side it was backing.

In a statement the body said: “The ball is now firmly in the government’s court. If ministers duck this decision, and delay airport expansion for yet another generation, British businesses and our overall competitiveness will pay the price.

“Business long ago ran out of patience. The government cannot afford to delay airport expansion any further if it is serious about Britain punching above its weight on the global stage.

“That means delivering a new runway at Heathrow now, and leaving the door open to subsequent expansion at Gatwick, Stansted and key regional airports as well.”