Claims of Airport Expansion Being Good For UK Economy Don't Stand Up - Brake

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 5th Aug 2005

Susan Kramer MP, Mike Cox and Sarah Ludford MEP pictured on a protest march against a third runway at Heathrow airport

Responding to a report by Friends of the Earth which suggests that UK airport expansion is damaging the UK economy because UK air travellers are spending £15bn more abroad per year than visitors arriving in the UK spend here, Tom Brake MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, said: "This report makes it clear that exaggerated claims about the economic benefits of airports do not stand up to scrutiny.

"With aviation now the fastest growing source of carbon dioxide emissions in the transport sector, the environmental impact of airport expansion must weigh very heavily against any economic benefit."