easyJet (London Luton) has leant its support to a third runway at London Heathrow just days before Sir Howard Davies and his Whitehall-appointed Airports Commission ends its consultations on the future of London's airports.

“Heathrow is in the best interests of passengers as it has the greatest demand. It is clear that long-haul airlines want to expand at Heathrow and if they can’t, they will do so not at Gatwick but at other airports such as Paris, Amsterdam Schiphol and Frankfurt International,” the airline said in a report submitted to the task force as part of a consultation. "We can say with great confidence that easyJet would operate from Heathrow if a new runway is built."

easyJet claims an expanded Heathrow would allow low-cost operators to operate there, providing more competition, new routes, more services and lower fares. For its part, the London Luton-based budget carrier says it would open up flights to 19 new destinations from Heathrow which, at present, is the preserve of larger legacy carriers and has yet to see any budget traffic.

In its interim report, published in December 2013, the Airports Commission identified a need for one net additional runway in London and the south east.

The three proposals shortlisted for detailed appraisal and public consultation included: a proposal from Gatwick Airport Ltd for an additional runway to the south of the existing runway at London Gatwick; a proposal from Heathrow Airport Ltd for an additional 3'500m-long runway to the north west of the existing northern runway at Heathrow Airport; and a proposal from Heathrow Hub Ltd for an extension to the existing northern runway at Heathrow Airport to operate as 2 separate runways.

However, following a detailed examination of the offers, the Commission found in November 2014 that project costs had been underestimated, with Heathrow's expansion set to cost up to GBP4 billion (USD6.04 billion) more than the airport had estimated while Gatwick's estimate of GBP7.4 billion (USD11.15 billion) was found to be GBP2 billion too little.

The Airports Commission is due to deliver its final report in July, two months after the upcoming British General Election.