Bold thinking is needed over airport expansion Sir Howard Davies's interim report narrowing the options for airport expansion in London has done nothing to quell the political controversy that has dogged this subject for four decades. It has been a depressing story of delay, dither and political cowardice by governments of all political persuasions. Even establishing Sir Howard's Airports Commission, ostensibly to chart a way forward, was a craven act designed to put off a decision until after the 2015 general election. When will our politicians grab the nettle and get on with it? Surely, there are no hidden arguments left to be uncovered about the relative merits of Heathrow or Gatwick. The same cannot be said about the third alternative still (just) in play - a new hub airport to the east of London favoured by Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, who has at least had the courage to nail his colours firmly to the mast. While the commission sees no credible case for an estuary airport, it is prepared to consider the feasibility of a new development on the Isle of Grain, proposed by the architect Lord Foster. There is, however, every indication that the hub airport idea is losing ground to two proposals for increasing Heathrow's capacity or one for a new southern runway at Gatwick. The latter option, previously blocked by a moratorium on expansion which expires in 2019, seems to have growing momentum. The commission says it would create significantly less noise impact than the Heathrow alternatives, be cheaper and affect fewer people. Sir Howard will announce the outcome of his feasibility study for an eastern hub development next summer. But if it is dropped, there will then be an almighty battle to force the political parties to rule out the expansion of Heathrow at the next election, just as they did at the last, effectively leaving Gatwick as the front-runner. In the end, this key strategic decision is going to be decided by which side has the best lobbyists, which is deeply unsatisfactory. Perhaps some new and bold thinking is needed here. The suggestion put forward on these pages by Michael O'Leary, chief executive of Ryanair, to leave this decision to the market, has some merit. He proposes that the Government gives permission to Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted each to build a new runway and let the airlines decide where they would prefer to fly. This is a move away from the idea of a new hub airport which, for all Mr Johnson's passionate proselytising, now seems unlikely to get off the ground. But it would have the virtue of removing from the decision-making process the very people who have made such a mess of this business for more than 40 years - the politicians.