Medway council attacks Boris Johnson's London 'island airport' plan

Boris Johnson has come under fire from Tory council chiefs over his plans for an airport in the Thames Estuary.

The proposal, dubbed Boris Island, was branded "pie in the sky" by Medway council in a feasibility report.

It said locating a terminal 60 miles from London would be like moving Manchester airport to Leeds.
Mr Johnson aims to replace Heathrow as the UK's main airport with up to six runways on a man-made island two miles off Sheerness in Kent.

He has set up a Thames Estuary steering group to look into the £40 billion scheme, but it has been dismissed as unworkable by environmentalists.

There are also questions over whether the Mayor has jurisdiction to develop such a project outside the capital. In its study, Medway council claimed the airport would be too close to the major liquid natural gas port at Thamesport and could lead to the need for a new railway station in the capital.

It added that aircraft would be 12 times more at risk of bird strike than at any other major British airport and the project would cause widespread environmental destruction.

Council leader Rodney Chambers said: "This report shows what we knew — that the Mayor of London's estuary airport plans are completely pie in the sky.

"His study has not taken into account many things, such as the distance from London and whether passengers or airlines would actually want this."

A cross-party group from the council will meet Deputy Mayor Kit Malthouse at City Hall to make their case.