According to a report commissioned by London First and the City of London Corporation, implementing the short-term improvements to Britain’s airports considered in the Airports Commission’s Interim Report could deliver an £206m a year (GVA) boost for the UK economy.

If measures to boost capacity were implemented they would also create 3,400 jobs and deliver journey time savings of £77m in passenger benefits. These measures include the introduction of mixed mode operations at Heathrow and the development of a reliever airport at Northolt.

Other options include reducing delays at airports, amounting to £125m per year at Heathrow alone, or £220m per year if implemented across London airports. Redistributing flight traffic via improved rail access to Gatwick and Stansted and changes to the regulatory framework could save £76m and £53m respectively.

Recent estimates from Oxford Economics showed that failure to deliver sufficient airport capacity for the UK in the long-term could result in the economy taking a £6.9 billion hit per annum by 2050.

Mark Boleat, Policy Chairman at the City of London Corporation, said: “These figures demonstrate that the range of short-term capacity measures considered by the Airports Commission could provide for a small boost for the UK economy, especially if all were implemented. Nevertheless, it is clear that these will have a limited impact on airport capacity in the South East, with longer-term solutions needed to maintain resilience, connectivity and international competitiveness. With Heathrow already operating at 98 percent capacity, it is clear we cannot afford to stand still while our rivals – including Paris, Amsterdam and Dubai - build for the future.”