Key aviation paper delayed for rethink

A key government paper on the future of UK aviation has been delayed amid speculation that the number of flights in and out of Heathrow could increase.

The document had been expected this month but has been pushed back to May at the earliest as the Department for Transport wrangles with a “call for evidence” on how to deal with a lack of capacity at airports in the South-East.

It comes amid intense lobbying from business and the airline industry for more flights to growth markets — possibly by rethinking cross-party opposition to a third runway at Heathrow, or through a new airport in the Thames Estuary.

George Osborne used his Budget speech to say Britain “must confront the lack of airport capacity in the South-East”. He vowed that Transport Secretary Justine Greening

would set out the Government’s thinking in the summer — significantly, after the mayoral election.

A DfT spokesman said the delay had been decided on because it was “crucial that we get this right”.