In response to the government’s decision to allow London City Airport to expand their operations, Paul Morozzo, climate campaigner for Greenpeace UK, said:

“This decision is a surprisingly clumsy misstep from our new government. Not only does it undermine the UK’s climate leadership, but it will mostly benefit an elite of wealthy frequent fliers while dumping the environmental costs on some of London’s poorest neighbourhoods.

“Over half of the destinations served by the airport can be reached by train in under six hours, with Amsterdam and Edinburgh among the most popular routes. It feels like the new Labour government has followed the previous administration in falling for the aviation industry’s arguments that climate change can somehow be dealt with later, by some magical untested technology, instead of taking the tough decisions needed today.”