It’s Heathrow

As widely expected, the government has approved a third runway at Heathrow in a move that was widely welcomed by the travel industry.

Virgin CEO Craig Kreeger congratulated the government on reaching a decision on such a ‘thorny’ issue.

"We support Heathrow expansion provided that it delivers for our customers," he said.

"This is an exciting, once in a generation opportunity to radically transform airline competition at the UK’s hub airport. New capacity must be allocated in a way that brings more choice, better service and lower fares for customers."

However, in a veiled threat to both Heathrow and the government about how the new runway should be funded, Kreeger added: "We will work with Heathrow, the CAA and the Government to ensure that the final scheme is affordable, cost-efficient and that the customers of today are not overburdened by paying for runways and facilities that won’t be open until the mid-2020s."

Although the government has stated that a third runway at Heathrow is its preferred option for expanding air capacity in the southeast, its decision will now be the subject of a public consultation, after which it will take a final decision.

MPs will then be able to vote on that decision in the winter of 2017-18.

ABTA chief executive Mark Tanzer also welcomed today’s announcement but said it was also necessary to expand Gatwick. "ABTA takes a long-term view on growing airport capacity. We have urged expansion at both Heathrow and Gatwick to meet the 2050 demand, rather than just 2030 capacity needs. Heathrow is full and Gatwick operates at full capacity at peak times. Additional capacity is essential at both airports to cope with growing passenger demand and provide resilience," he said.

He also repeated Kreeger’s warning that any scheme should be ‘cost-efficient and affordable’ and that today’s passengers shouldn’t be expected to pay.

Ryanair was the only airline to publicly criticise the government’s decision, saying it should have approved three new runways instead of just one.

It said Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted should all be allowed to add more capacity ‘as and when they see fit to do so’.

But Ryanair said allowing only one new runway ‘will allow Heathrow to waste over £18 billion on a third runway, an excessive monopoly cost that will have to be paid for in higher air fares for many years to come’.

"In addition, this third runway won’t be open until 2025 by which date it will already be full at peak periods, and so another runway (or two) in the south east will then be necessary," it warned.