More Than 270 British Business Leaders Convince PM To Approve Heathrow Airport Expansion

Heathrow's airport expansion has been the subject of debates for many years. On Sunday, a group of British leaders wrote a letter to the Prime Minister David Cameron to approve the new runway improvement and go on with the plan before Christmas. They call on the prime minister to show his strong leadership and proceed with the expansion without hindrance.

According to the letter addressed to Telegraph, they urged PM to urgently approve Heathrow's airport expansion without further delay. The letter was organized by Let Britain Fly and supported by 50 company directors and chairmen, the managing directors of Harrods and Selfridges, Sir Martin Sorrell, the chief executive of advertising group WPP; John Longworth, chief executive of the British Chambers of Commerce; Sir Win Bischoff ; and the former chairman of Lloyds Banking Group.

"We welcome the news that the Prime Minister is preparing to back a new runway at Heathrow," they say. "However, despite this decision, it seems the Government may be drawn into yet another lengthy consultation on aviation capacity, resulting in further delays and uncertainty. The Airports Commission has already spent three years consulting on this topic," the letter said.

The group of leaders went to add that Heathrow's airport expansion is fundamental to Britain's economic progress as it is fully functional while Gatewick will be 2020. They claimed that without the improvement in the airport, Britain's economic growth will be hampered. They went on to say that with the delay, they are allowing other countries to lead the edge sighting Paris has 50% more flights to China than they are. The letter said that Cameron's government must show strong leadership to start Heathrow's airport expansion as advised by the Airports Commission.

Meanwhile, Gatewick Airport will continue its bid for a second runway regardless of the government's decision in Heathrow's airport expansion, according to City Am. In an interview, Gatewick's chief executive Stewart Wingate assured that the airport bid will be going on no matter what will be the government's decision.

As of this late, the PM has yet to respond on the letter made by the 50 British business leaders to Cameron through Telegraph. Do you think Heathrow's airport expansion will be approved by the government before Christmas?