After completion we have the boost to the economy created by this greater connectivity to the regions. The British Chamber of Commerce has said it would double cargo capacity and connect British businesses to up to 40 new long-haul trading routes. They say the project will pump £187bn into the economy, create up to 180,000 new skilled jobs and double the number of apprenticeships at the airport to 10,000.
You still have not answered my question though Ozzy, How is scrapping a project that would be beneficial for the whole of the UK and building one only helping the SE a reasonable answer to the North/South funding imbalance?
some huge assumptions here. How do we know all these new routes to unserved destinations will appear? BA and co could be operating them now rather than multiple JFK's if there was money in it. What happens if BA decides that what is more profitable for them is more JFK's? or any new entrant decides the same? The national interest and those of private airlines might not always align...