So up for discussion then:
BBC News - Thames Estuary airport plans to be examined
I guess they wouldn't be wasting time & money with a consultation if there wasn't some realistic prospect of it happening.
Now, I am not any sort of Airport or transport planning professional but from this amateur viewpoint I'd have thought that a better strategic location for the UK would be to have had THE major international airport in the South Midlands area somewhere BETWEEN London & the Midlands. I know that an airport was previously proposed in the Rugby area but I wonder whether somewhere like RAF Wyton and/or Alconbury could have been developed as a major hub to serve 2 of the UKs major citys. Some runways already in place; space to build or extend (even between the two); A1, A14 & major railway routes nearby & therefore good links in to both The City and to Brum and the north.
Keep Heathrow & Gatwick. Close Luton, Stansted and Coventry and develop a new international place in a location where it can serve a greater need.
Discuss! Its OK, I'm standing by to be flamed.