According to the director general of the BCC David Frost, preventing the airport’s expansion could cause unnecessary problems for UK business.

He adds that concentrating too heavily on predicted environmental concerns could hold back the economy and suggests that the majority of Britons would like to see the expansion if the alternative was a reduction in the UK’s competitiveness.

‘Expansion does not have to come at a cost to the environment if we think imaginatively,’ he says, continuing that the BCC is pushing the government for improved public transport links.

Frost’s comments come following business secretary John Hutton’s statement that Heathrow airport needs a third runway.

A report published last week found that business travellers contribute over £4 billion to the UK economy each year.