Heathrow Expansion More Important After EU Vote

London's Heathrow Airport said the vote to leave the European Union made it more important than ever that Britain's busiest airport should be allowed to expand to boost trade links with countries around the world.

Britain has spent years pondering whether to expand Heathrow or its rival Gatwick to provide additional capacity in the south east of the country, with a decision from the new government of Theresa May expected in the coming months.

Heathrow, operating at close to full capacity, has been campaigning to build an extra runway but a decision has been delayed by successive governments worried about pollution and local opposition.

"Now Britain needs a positive post-Brexit plan and only Heathrow expansion will help Britain to be one of the world's leading trading nations - connecting all of Britain to global growth," chief executive John Holland-Kaye said in a statement.

The group said while last month's EU referendum result may create some short-term economic uncertainty, it was resilient enough to cope.

Publishing results for the first half of the year to June 30, Heathrow said 35.7 million passengers had used the airport, helping core earnings rise by 4.4 percent to GBP£781 million.

"In an uncertain economic environment, a GBP£16 billion privately funded infrastructure investment will create up to 180,000 jobs and GBP£211 billion of growth across the UK," it said.