Plans for a new airport in the Thames estuary have received the support of Emirates.
Tim Clark, president of the airline, told The Times that the new airport would help prevent Britain from being overshadowed by international rivals.
Officials of the London mayor Boris Johnson have drawn up plans for a new airport on an artificial island in the Thames estuary.
Dubbed ‘Boris Island’, the hub would be open 24 hours a day and would have the potential for six runways due to a lack of restraint on planning permission in the area.
Mr Clark suggested that the construction of the proposed airport was important because Heathrow’s long-term development is “severely compromised”.
He explained to The Times: “There is no room for growth [at Heathrow]. European and Middle Eastern hubs will eventually eclipse it. A new airport in the Thames estuary would tick all the boxes in terms of growth and the environment, and would be funded by the sale of Heathrow for property development.”
Mr Clark went on to say that the construction of Boris Island would also allow for Gatwick to be closed as it would be only 40 miles away from the new airport.
