NEWS Expansion at Heathrow airport could 'breach air quality rules'

A new study has shown that any expansion of Heathrow could be delayed for decades to due air quality issues.

The Gatwick-supported report by a global environmental consulting firm had discovered that Heathrow's expansion plan could lead to breaches in EU and UK air quality laws.

Should the government approve the expansion of Heathrow rather then Gatwick, it would be doing so without any certainty that the UK's legal obligations under the 2008 EU Air Quality Directive and the UK implementing regulations could be met, according to the report by the Environmental Resources Management (ERM) and Clear Air Thinking.