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There could be an end in sight to delays and travel set backs at one of Europe's air travel hubs. The British government has unveiled plans to expand London's Heathrow Airport. Among options up for public consultation, is a third runway for short-haul flights and a sixth terminal. The Government says development of the airport to handle hundreds of thousands of extra flights by 2030 is vital. Richard Lambert of the Confederation of British Industry, is confident the expansion will keep Heathrow - and London - competitive. (SOUNDBITE) (English) RICHARD LAMBERT, DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE CBI, SAYING: "Heathrow is hugely important to the economies of London, the South East and the UK as a whole and it's full with its two runways running at 99 per cent capacity. It supports business investment on a very very large scale. It's the only link to many long-haul destinations from the UK. It's the world's busiest international airport. 70 per cent of international companies relocating in the UK, for the first time, choose to base themselves within an hour of Heathrow. Heathrow's owners say the airport is unable to cope with present demand, let alone future - Steven Nelson, Chief Executive of BAA. (SOUNDBITE) (English) STEVEN NELSON, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF BAA, SAYING: "What that means now is that we are handling 60,000 more passengers per day than the airport was built for. What are the consequences for this? Well the consequences of this I for passengers, I think and unfortunately, are self evident. It's congestion in the terminals, but also it's congestion in the skies, delays, lack of resillience when you get something as straight forward as fog." But the development of Heathrow faces a new wave of intense opposition. Environmental groups have already demonstrated against the current construction of terminal five and it's certain future expansion will face fierce opposition. And if it does go ahead - it will at least thirteen years before a third runway is in place. Nidhi Dutt, Reuters.