The latest report is a follow-up from a previous study earlier in the year which concluded that, because all five London airports are running close to capacity, the UK must boost its aviation capacity to hang onto its status as a major international business hub.

The report highlights several shortcomings of current aviation provision including;

• London remains without any direct connections to 12 cities in mainland China that are expected to be among the 25 "mega-cities" with the highest total GDP in the world by 2025.
• While France and Germany managed to attract between 500,000 and 700,000 visitors from China respectively in 2010, the UK only had 127,000.
• Ten years ago, Heathrow offered almost 200 destinations but in June it was only 167. In comparison, Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport offers 238 destinations, Amsterdam’s airport offers 248 and Frankfurt offers 267. By 2050, Heathrow is expected to lose a further 20 per cent of its destinations.
• A new hub airport for London could serve more than 260 destinations in 2050.
• 41 per cent of UK firms were "dissatisfied" with links to the Far East and South America.

A third report, to be published next year, will explore possible options for the location of a new hub airport in the South East