MPs have urged the government to press ahead with a third runway at Heathrow and said a fourth should be considered, dismissing calls for a new airport east of London.

The transport select committee said expansion at Britain's largest airport was "long overdue" and vital if the UK was to maintain its status as a major international aviation hub.

The MPs rejected calls for an east of London hub airport on the grounds that it could not be done without huge public investment in new infrastructure and would have a potentially substantial impact on wildlife in the Thames estuary. It would also require the closure of Heathrow, "a course of action that would have unacceptable consequences".

Louise Ellman, the committee's chair, said that Heathrow expansion was the most viable plan to meet the challenges posed by the rapid growth in air travel.