A new runway should be built at Heathrow to end years of political dithering, a cross-party group of MPs advises.
The transport select committee said that noise and pollution at the west London airport could be managed and should no longer be used as an excuse to delay the decision.
MPs accused the government of trying to “kick the can down the road” by failing to ratify a third runway at Heathrow before Christmas when the decision was originally planned. They said that ministers had squandered the opportunity to settle the issue in an impartial way by accepting an independent panel’s conclusions last year.
The government-appointed airports commission made an overwhelming recommendation in favour of Heathrow after finding that expansion would deliver far greater economic benefits than a second runway at Gatwick.
It was claimed that a third runway would generate up to £147 billion in benefits compared with about £89 billion at Gatwick, in West Sussex.
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In December Patrick McLoughlin, the transport secretary, postponed the decision until summer, saying that further work was needed to assess the impact of the two schemes on noise and air quality.
There were claims at the time that the delay was to avoid negative headlines in the run-up to London’s mayoral elections. The Conservative candidate, Zac Goldsmith, opposes expansion at Heathrow, as does Boris Johnson, the outgoing mayor.
A Department for Transport spokesman said: “We are undertaking more work on environmental impacts so we can develop the best possible package of measures to mitigate the impacts on local people. We anticipate that this work will conclude by the summer.”