Justine Greening

But Heathrow expansion is a national issue too. As the UK’s main hub airport, Heathrow operates like a monopoly. Its expansion actively harms the growth of our regional airports. In 2018 a Department for Transport (DfT) analysis showed that regional airports such as Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle and Leeds Bradford would have their connections stunted by Heathrow and its third runway. With the Heathrow expansion strategy, extra connections are tilted away from the regional airports and towards London. It means that emerging growth markets for exports end up out of reach and more expensive to access for those British companies outside London.

The Guardian