Expansion of Heathrow and Gatwick are the shortlisted options being considered by a government-backed commission into airport expansion. In its interim report, the commission also says a new airport will be needed in the South East by 2030.
The Airports Commissions' independent review into airport capacity in the UK has concluded that there is a need for one additional runway to be up and running in the south east by 2030.
The commission found that there is likely to be a demand case for a second additional runway to be operational by 2050.
The Commission said it will now investigate further feasibility studies to look into proposals for new runways in two locations - at Heathrow and Gatwick.
At Gatwick, the group will study the airport's proposals for a new runway to the south of the existing runway.
At Heathrow, two options are on the table: the existing plan for one new 3,500m runway to the northwest, and a new proposals from Heathrow Hub to extend the existing northern runway to at least 6,000m, enabling the the extended runway to operate as two independent runways.
Some believe today's report did not draw firm conclusions in order to avoid a politically divisive issue before the next election.
Expansion of Heathrow and Gatwick Airports are the shortlisted options being considered by a government report into airport expansion.
Heathrow is the third busiest airport in the world in terms of passenger numbers. It carried more than 69 million people in 2011.