Government braced for airports protest
The Government is bracing itself for a huge storm of protest this week - whatever the contents of its eagerly-awaited aviation White Paper.
The question of whether to build more runways at the three big airports in the South East - Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted - is at the heart of the document which seeks to deal with demand for air traffic over the next 30 years.
Threats of litigation, accusations that not enough has been done, and criticisms of too much airport expansion are all likely to come to the fore when Transport Secretary Alistair Darling reveals his plans.
The Treasury is thought to favour new runways at Heathrow and Gatwick, but it has been rumoured that Mr Darling could exclude a third, short runway at Heathrow on environmental grounds and opt for a new runway at Stansted in Essex instead.
Mr Darling could state that Heathrow will get a third runway, but later rather than sooner and only when the environmental concerns are addressed.
This would infuriate British Airways, which is very keen on the Heathrow option being pursued as soon as possible and could sue if Stansted is preferred to Heathrow.
Trade unions are also in favour of Heathrow as well as a new runway at either Gatwick or Stansted.
If Mr Darling goes for Gatwick he faces another dilemma.
An agreement reached in the late 1970s rules out expansion at the West Sussex airport until 2019 and any development there would require this undertaking to be changed.
In the South East, there is also the option to build a new runway at Luton airport.