Major businesses support Heathrow growth

The government's proposals to expand Heathrow Airport have received strong support from a group of businesses, unions and aviation employers.

Future Heathrow, which counts British Airways and Virgin Atlantic among its members, welcomed the government's recent confirmation that plans for growth would meet requirements regarding noise and air quality.

The group claimed that expansion at Heathrow would benefit wealth and job creation across the UK by nearly £10 billion a year.

Failure to act, however, would threaten London's status as a global capital for business travel, Future Heathrow claimed.

Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways, said that it is possible for expansion to be sustainable, while Virgin Atlantic's Steve Ridgway claimed there is no guarantee that preventing development at Heathrow would curtail climate change.

"Limiting growth at Heathrow wouldn't prevent climate change because that growth would only go elsewhere," Mr Ridgway said.

"It would only serve to damage the UK's competitiveness, as well as limit the choice available to the huge number of people living in London who want to travel to visit friends and family. We rely on air travel to connect people and places on a wider scale."