The prospect of a minority or coalition government being formed after the general election will put an end to expansion plans at Heathrow, according to the chairman of Gatwick airport.
Sir Roy McNulty told The Times ahead of a lecture at the Royal Aeronautical Society that Gatwick will be the only option if no political party achieves a majority.
“We’ve seen the film about Heathrow expansion before and we know how it ends,” he said. “The answer is that nothing happens.
Both Labour and Conservatives support airport expansion but the Liberal Democrats remain opposed to it as outlined in their manifesto. The Airports Commission is expected to publish its final recommendations for airport expansion shortly after the election result on May 8.
McNuly added: “Obviously, politicians will make up their own minds, but the most recent coalition government decided to come out against Heathrow expansion because there were too many obstacles in the way the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats saw it.
“There were varying opinions within the Labour government and we know that those Labour politicians who opposed Heathrow still see challenges.”