Business Chiefs Pile Pressure On May Over Runway Expansion

Theresa May will face renewed calls from business leaders next week to kick off the construction of a new runway in the south-east amid warnings that the UK is losing £1.1m every hour in international trade opportunities because of capacity constraints.

Sky News has learnt that the lobbying group Let Britain Fly, which operates under the London First inward investment agency, is circulating a letter among private sector bosses calling on the Prime Minister to act swiftly on airport expansion.

The letter, which sources said was likely to be published next week, argues that a new runway in the south-east would benefit the entire country.

"If we want UK businesses from Scotland to Cornwall to continue to compete and benefit in the global economy post-Brexit, we must have the runway capacity for more frequent and direct flights to these destinations," it says.

The emergence of Let Britain Fly's latest lobbying effort comes as Heathrow Airport Holdings - the preferred location for new capacity in last year's report by the Government-backed Airports Commission - published claims that a third runway could boost economic output by £24,500 for every household in Britain.

Mrs May is to chair a cabinet committee charged with deciding between a new third runway, a rival proposal to extend Heathrow's northern runway, and the expansion of Gatwick Airport.

The committee's membership is due to be disclosed next week, according to Whitehall sources, with the position on it of arch-critics of Heathrow such as Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, unclear.

The Government is expected to announce its final verdict in October.

In its letter to Mrs May, Let Britain Fly is expected to say that air-freight is "essential to the future success of the UK economy", according to a copy of the letter seen by Sky News.

"40% of our £305bn exports travel by air.

"That includes anything which is valuable, perishable or required just-in-time - from Scottish Salmon to pharmaceuticals, Brompton bikes to Formula 1 cars.

"Overall, three-quarters of those airfreight exports leave from London airports, and the new runway will be a critical piece of national infrastructure, securing long-term economic growth and decent jobs in all the nations and regions of the UK.

"In the year since the Airports Commission published its final recommendation on the expansion of airports capacity, the UK has missed out on at least £9.5bn in potential trade with emerging economies because we do not have a new runway."

The letter will argue that the lost trade is spread widely across the UK, with "more than £2bn missed by businesses in the South East, £1bn by those in the East, and £500m each by those in Yorkshire, the South West and the East Midlands".

The consequences are particularly acute because the forgone trade is with the world's faster-growing economies, to which aviation links are less well-developed, it will say.

"At a time when Britain is looking to re-energise its trading relationships across the globe, we cannot afford to fall behind Paris, Frankfurt or Amsterdam or to forego a single trading opportunity with fast-growing markets like China.

"A new runway will send a strong message to the rest of the world that the UK is still open for business.

"Government has a clear recommendation from the Airports Commission to build a new runway.

"British business, whether an SME in Truro or multinational in Edinburgh, cannot afford further delay and uncertainty. We urge you to lead Government and Parliament in accepting the Commission's recommendation and to take a clear decision."

The identities of those signing the letter was unclear on Friday, although previous backers of Let Britain Fly's campaign have included the chief executives of Berkeley Group, British Land (LSE: BLND.L - news) , Harvey Nichols and WPP Group.