STANSTED Airport should be properly utilised to help provide additional capacity for passengers across the UK.

Speaking after the announcement of the government’s decision to press forward with the building of a third runway at Heathrow airport, business leaders as well as Essex County Council have spoken of how Stansted can play a vital role in alleviating capacity issues, both in the short and long term.

Andrew Cowan, Stansted Airport’s CEO, said: “Airports such as London Stansted are critical in supporting economic growth and increasing the UK’s global competitiveness and we have been clear that making the most of existing capacity at Stansted over the next 10-15 years is our priority and a vital precursor to the building of new capacity in the south-east.

“In addition, by relaxing current planning constraints, Stansted will be able to serve up to an extra 20 million passengers from its single runway, almost twice as many as it does today.

“Making use of Stansted’s spare capacity will benefit not only the dynamic and fast growing east of England region we serve but also the UK as a whole and has the potential to generate an extra 10,000 on-site jobs and £4.6 billion in additional economic activity”

In a post on his Facebook page, Braintree’s MP James Cleverly said whilst he had been critical of the proposals for a number of years, it was clear that action was needed on airport capacity, especially in the wake of Brexit.

Essex County Council said that whilst the third runway plans are the correct decision, with the construction not expected to begin until 2020 at the earliest, Stansted can help meet the shortfall in capacity in the meantime.

Kevin Bentley, Essex County Councillor responsible for economic growth and partnerships, said: “What is needed now is swift action to ensure the UK can continue to lay claim to the world’s most successful airport and expansion plans can really take off.”