BREAKING NEWS: Has Heathrow won?

Prime Minister Theresa May is due to make an announcement to parliament at 11.30 GMT today to reveal which airport – Gatwick or Heathrow – it has decided to back in the long-awaited south east airport expansion debate.

According to BBC Political Editor, Laura Kuenssberg, “Heathrow did get the nod in the committee this morning”.

The announcement, made via Twitter and citing a source, puts to end decades of indecision as to which airport will get the go-ahead for expansion, although Kuenssberg did not specify which of the two Heathrow options the government had backed – building a new runway or expanding one of its existing ones. May’s office has not made an immediate comment on this report. 

A three-year study by the independent Airports Commission states a new runway at Heathrow would create 70,000 new jobs and increase GDP by 0.65-0.75% by 2050, representing a £147 billion boost to the economy over 60 years. The project is, however, likely to face legal challenges and a final vote by lawmakers will not be made until winter 2017-18, meaning that any new runway could not be operational before 2025 at the earliest. 

International Airport Review will continue to bring up up-to-date coverage about the long-awaited decision.