BREAKING NEWS: Airport expansion could result in the loss of billions of pounds from the economy as UK travellers spend money abroad, according to pressure group Friends of the Earth. It said, in a report, that visitors flying in spent ”11bn in the UK in 2004, while UK residents flying out spent ”26bn abroad ” a ”15bn deficit. FoE said if airport expansion proceeded as the government plans, the deficit would grow to ”30bn annually by 2020. According to FoE calculations, based on Office of National Statistics information, regions would miss out the most if regional airports expanded, with only London gaining.
http://www.foe.co.uk