The government has provided its strongest hint yet that it will give the go-ahead to the controversial new third runway at Heathrow.
Business secretary John Hutton said the government might take "difficult decisions" on airport expansion. It is due to make a decision on the development of the airport by the end of the year.
"British businesses, and ultimately the British people, would not forgive us if we shirked our responsibility to do what's right because we wanted an easy ride from green lobby groups," he told an audience at the Farnborough airshow.
"We will take the difficult decisions on airport expansion to ensure the UK has the transport infrastructure to continue to attract business from across the globe."
Operator BAA has said Heathrow needs a third runway to remain competitive while the government initially backed the proposals in a white paper in 2003, on condition that it met strict air quality and noise level targets and improvements were made to public transport access.
But the proposal has come under fierce criticism from environmentalists, who believe it would have a serious effect of thousands of local residents and runs counter to initiatives to reduce carbon emissions.
Many business travellers rely on Heathrow to enter and leave the UK, with the airport's new Terminal Five acting at BA's main base. But it is estimated a third of passengers arriving at Heathrow are transfer passengers waiting to catch another flight.
Earlier Ruth Kelly postponed the decision on the future of Heathrow until later this year, prompting some to speculate that the government was wavering in its backing for the proposal.
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have both expressed concerns over the proposed expansion of Britain's biggest airport, and the recent disastrous opening of Terminal Five will have done little to allay concerns.
