Dr Jenifer Baxter, Head of Engineering at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said in response to news that a third runway at Heathrow Airport is set to be approved by ministers:

“In 2015, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers drew attention to the wider questions concerning the building of a third runway at Heathrow Airport. These included the key issues of increasing capacity at Heathrow by the time the third runway is built and that we should also look at the possibilities for expansion at Stansted and Gatwick, with better rail links between our three main London airports. There is an increasing need for more integrated ground-based local transport systems that reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions and are fit for the 21st century.”