HILLINGDON residents living under Heathrow flight paths will have at least another six months to wait to find out if they will face the disruption of a third runway.

The Government has this evening deferred any decision about where to build extra aviation capacity until after the London Mayoral elections in May 2016.

A decision had previously been expected by the end of this year.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said all shortlisted locations remained on the table, including Heathrow and Gatwick.

Conservative mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith said he was delighted the government was to judge the options against an environmental test, and believed this would make Heathrow out of the question.

"We know that any airport expansion must meet our legally binding carbon, noise and air quality limits. There can be no doubt that in a fair contest on air quality, Heathrow will not win," he said.

"We have a massive opportunity now to remove the threat of Heathrow expansion once and for all, and to press for an intelligent approach to London’s connectivity."

His Labour rival Sadiq Khan said the government was delaying a decision to avoid embarrassing their mayoral candidate.

He tweeted: "It should be Gatwick and it should be now. Tory dithering is hurting London - our businesses, our jobs, our growth."

London Mayor Boris Johnson, MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, said he suspected people would be a 'bit cynical' and think it was being put off until after the election.

John Stewart, chair of the Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise (HACAN), said, “This delay shows once again just how difficult it will be to build a third runway at Heathrow. 

"The last Labour Government tried and failed. And now this Government has run into real obstacles. 

"Heathrow would require almost 1,000 homes to be demolished and part of the M25 to be moved and put in a tunnel. 

"It would mean a quarter of a million more planes flying over the city with the biggest aircraft noise problem in Europe and could cause air pollution to exceed the EU legal limits. 

"Many of these problems won’t go away however long the final decision is delayed. 

"The Government should face up to the reality that a third runway is unlikely ever to see the light of day.”

Activist group Plane Stupid caused chaos at Heathrow Airport on November 26.

Members of the group drove into the central entrance tunnel for terminals one, two and three at about 7am, before blocking the lanes with their vans and staging a peaceful protest.

The gridlock that ensued led back onto the Bath Road and left hundreds unable to make work or flights, before police announced the blockade was cleared at around 11am.

Spokesman Eddy Charles said: “We did not want to disrupt people's days but the issue has become such an urgent one. That is why we felt we had no choice but to do this.

“It is very disingenuous of the government to be debating another runway anywhere, not just at Heathrow but also at Gatwick, and then be discussing climate control.”

Prime Minister David Cameron stated as part of his election campaign in 2009 the now infamous ‘no ifs, no buts, no third runway’ mantra, which activists have adopted to remind him to keep his promise.

Mr Charles added: “If another runway is built, it alone will cause more pollution than the entire country of Kenya.”

Picture courtesy of Plane Stupid, with thanks.