Environment Minister John Gummer has turned down an application to develop Filton airfield in Bristol as a commercial airport. The 160ha (395.35a) site is owned by British Aerospace, which wanted to operate 23,000 business and freight flights a year.
The decision now puts a question mark over the future of the Filton site and the 3,700 people currently employed there. The airfield is currently used by BAe for company business flights.
A spokeswoman for BAe said: “We are extremely disappointed with this decision and we are currently consulting with our lawyers to see whether we should take the matter further.”
