Freight Transport Association (FTA) has called for cargo growth to be a major factor in the Airport Commission’s decision on future South East England runway capacity.

On 11 November, the commission, set up by the UK government in 2012 to examine runway expansion options, published its proposals for public consultation.

The commission will publish its recommendations for how runway capacity can be increased after May 2015.

In response to the consultation, FTA’s director of global and european policy, Chris Welsh, says: “We believe that London, as the UK hub for freight, is exceptionally important and that this should be recognised alongside passenger traffic. It is critical for UK industry that new services are developed to emerging markets as this is where Heathrow [Airport] is already falling behind competitors due to lack of capacity.”

On 20 March, the FTA published its Sky High Value report, which came out in favour of Heathrow getting more capacity.