London may be the home to a new floating airport, proposals revealed. The upcoming airport, London Britannia Airport would involve four floating runways that are tethered to a sea bed located in the Thames Estuary.
The architecture firm Gensler has designed the floating airport which would allow for expansion of up to six runways.
Project director, Ian Mulcahey told the BBC, "The airport can be quickly manufactured in the ship yards and steel works across the UK and can be floated by sea and positioned in the Estuary. This isn't a London airport, it is a global airport, designed, manufactured and built in the UK."
London's the Daily Mail said that the airport will be nicknamed after Boris Johnson, London's mayor with the nickname "Boris Island."
At the airport, which would be connected to London by high speed rail, passengers would be able to check in and arrive at the terminals on land. One would be in Central London between Canary Wharf and the Olympic park and two to the north and south of the estuary.
The Daily Mail said that "the Gensler scheme would see Heathrow Airport close and become a new eco-city and 'the largest urban expansion project in Europe', with housing for around 300,000 people."
Gensler's managing principal and creative director for the airport, Chris Johnson, said to News Shopper: "This is a once in a century project that will build on a new symbol of national pride" and that it is a "fantastic opportunity" to "provide a genuine 21st century airport that creates a new standard for the world, minimising nuisance and maximising environmental benefits".
See proposed photos here.
