Mayor Boris Johnson Says The Hub Would Eventually Contribute £92.1 billion to the UK Economy

London Mayor Boris Johnson still has hopes that a floating four-runway hub airport can be built in the Thames Estuary, saying the airport would contribute the equivalent of approximately $152 billion to the UK economy in 2050 and support 336,000 jobs.

Buying Business Travel reports that Johnson submitted a report to the Airports Commission that says the Thames Estuary airport ... which has been dubbed "Boris Island" by the press ... should be on the short list of potential airport expansion projects currently under consideration by the panel.  The Commission is expected to decide in the next few weeks whether to add the Thames Estuary airport to the list, though no final decision will be made until after the next general election.

Johnson argues that Gatwick can't deliver the necessary capacity to keep the UK competitive in the global aviation market, and that expanding Heathrow would "create too much noise and environmental pollution."

But it is the environmentalists who are among the most vocal against the Thames Estuary project, which have called the proposal to build an airport in what is largely marshland "disastrous."

Rodney Chambers, leader of the Medway Council, said that the Thames Estuary airport would be on the wrong side of London for the majority of the people who might use the airport. He called the proposal "financially, geographically, and environmentally wrong."

(Image from file)

FMI: Johnson Proposal