Boris calls for 'Airport Island'

With the plight of Heathrow airport never far from the front pages, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has come up with a radical plan to reduce pressure on long suffering passengers.

The conservative mayor has called for the creation of an 'Airport Island' in the Thames estuary, with as many as six runways.

Referring to Heathrow as a "mistake" Mr Johnson is believed to favour the creation of a international hub off Sheppey in Kent, which could be built in as little as six years due to minimal planning considerations.

"If you look at what is going on in other countries around the world - in Hong Kong, in Washington - it’s not impossible to move the capital’s biggest airport," Mr Johnson is noted as commenting.

"I’m looking at all the airports around the perimeter including the option of a new site somewhere in the Thames estuary, that’s something I definitely think we should look at," he added.

This would eventually allow for the closure of Heathrow airport, which fell into turmoil earlier this year with the botched opening of Terminal 5.

The new airport would be connected to the high-speed Channel tunnel rail link to transport passengers into central London in about 35 minutes.

"I think it’s madness to expand any of the other airports when there is an obvious solution elsewhere," said Kit Malthouse, who is overseeing the Thames airport project for Mr Johnson.

"We’re not proposing to switch the lights on at the new airport and switch the lights off at Heathrow, firing everyone overnight.

"This would be a phasing from one airport to the other. Over the space of three or four years, those workers that wanted to, could migrate."

Chris O'Toole