Senior ministers at the UK Department for Transport have stated that the plan to build a new airport in the Thames estuary outside London is unlikely to go ahead unless an “innovative model” to finance the £40 billion scheme was found.
The airport has been championed by London mayor Boris Johnson, who is seeking to end noisy flights over the UK city. However, aviation experts have stated that aircraft landing in the estuary would still have to fly over London and planes landing there would also cross the flight paths serving existing major airports such as Luton, Stansted and even Schiphol airport in Amsterdam.
Even though UK chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne promised to re-consider scheme, UK transport secretary Philip Hammond is rumoured to be sceptical.