London’s lack of air capacity is an international embarrassment. A can-do Labour government should push through where the Tories failed and build a third runaway at Heathrow, says James Price

As I downed a peculiar American concoction that promised to help me sleep (no, not Jack Daniel’s) for an overnight flight back to Blighty recently, the captain’s voice came over the plane intercom: “Good weather conditions and efficient boarding means that we are ready to leave Chicago early. Unfortunately, because London Heathrow is so congested, we can only be 20 minutes early at best.” Maintained so well through the anti-British teasing of my American in-laws over the 4th of July weekend, my stiff upper lip crumbled. O’Hare has eight runways. Heathrow has two. How we must look to the rest of the world.

Lee Kuan Yew, one of the greatest leaders of the twentieth century, knew how important it was to get airports right. Changi International in Singapore was built four years ahead of schedule. It involved the demolition of hundreds of buildings, swamps being drained, thousands of........

© City A.M.