Britain considers €60bn Thames airport to meet demand

BRITAIN may build a £50 billion (€60.5bn) airport on the mudflats of the Thames estuary instead of expanding Heathrow as the government examines how to meet burgeoning demand for flights.

Options for boosting capacity include the new base east of the capital, prime minister David Cameron’s office said yesterday. Construction of a third runway at Heathrow remains off the agenda.

With Europe’s busiest hub operating at the limits of runway capacity and hemmed in by urban sprawl, London mayor Boris Johnson has led a campaign for a new site at the mouth of the Thames.