A NEW airport in London could boost the Humber's economy by £79m and create 810 jobs through better transport links, a report claims.
The study by York Aviation and Oxford Economics suggests a new four-runway hub in the capital would be the only way to increase flights to Humberside Airport.
Making Connections has been published and claims the new jobs and economic growth would be created by 2050.
It says a new airport would provide three flights a day to Humberside but a third runway at Heathrow – the other option being considered – would have no effect.
Peter Aarosin, chairman of Hull marketing organisation Bondholders, said: "A direct link to a hub airport in the capital would have many benefits for the Humber region, increasing our connectivity to the capital, as well as European and global markets.
"At the moment, there is no connection between the Humber and the capital and our main hub connection is via Amsterdam, which is often off-putting to overseas investors.
"A hub airport in London offers a more appealing and efficient way of travelling, connecting the Humber more easily to the rest of the world."
The report has been released ahead of a decision by the Airports Commission on which option is best for expanding south-east services.
A third Heathrow runway would fill up quickly due to underlying demand and pressure on airlines to use slots for the most profitable routes, it said.
York Aviation managing partner Louise Congdon said: "There is no doubt of all the options for expansion currently under consideration by the Airports Commission, a new four-runway hub airport would provide the nations and regions with the best connectivity.
"This could include eight new regional routes and a more frequent service for cities that have a Heathrow connection currently.
"It might surprise some people that a third runway at Heathrow will do little to improve regional connectivity."
Mayor of London Boris Johnson has publicly called for a new airport in the Thames Estuary.
He chairs Transport for London, which commissioned today's report.
Mr Johnson's chief adviser on aviation, Daniel Moylan, said: "This report highlights only a new four- runway hub airport can connect each nation and region of the UK to London and the rest of the world.
"The current expansion debate must not be allowed to become simply a matter of where to build a new strip of tarmac.
"This is a decision that matters to the whole of the UK and it's ludicrous Amsterdam airport provides more than three times the number of UK regional connections than our so-called national airport."
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