London mayor: UK to study new airport proposal

[January 18, 2012]  LONDON (AP) -- London Mayor Boris Johnson says his proposal for a major new airport in the Thames River estuary east of London is gaining some support.

Johnson told BBC radio Wednesday that the government is getting increasingly interested in the proposal. He says both Prime Minister David Cameron and Treasury chief George Osborne have recently discussed the project.

Johnson first proposed the costly and controversial idea in 2008.

Famed architect Norman Foster has also produced a plan for a possible estuary airport.

Critics says the cost, environmental impact and time needed for the construction argue against the proposal.

London's Heathrow Airport is already badly overcrowded and the government has ruled out construction of a third runway there.

[Associated Press]

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