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At Gatwick, we believe the economic benefits of airport expansion must be balanced with the impact on the environment. Only Gatwick can offer the new runway the UK needs but at a fraction of the environmental cost of other options.

Air quality is a critical issue in the debate over where the UK’s next runway should be built – indeed, it has been a major factor in the vehement opposition to previous attempts by Heathrow to expand. The issue has now become fundamental to the choice that lies ahead.

It is an issue that cannot be ignored.

The area around Heathrow currently breaches legal air quality limits and it defies common sense that a third runway – with hundreds of thousands of extra car journeys that it would bring – is the solution to the problem. Air quality has been a showstopper for Heathrow before and it is now clear that it will be again.

In contrast, Gatwick has never breached legal air quality limits and its location means it can guarantee that it never will. This decision is about the economy and the environment. Gatwick’s plan is simpler, cheaper, faster and quieter – above all it can actually happen.