Boris Johnson has said that Heathrow is a “planning error” and that instead of expanding the airport with a third runway and a possible sixth terminal we should instead consider phasing it out. Boris Johnson is calling on the government to look at plans which would build a new airport on artificial islands on the Thames estuary. This would mean planes could take off and land without disturbing the 2 million people who currently live under the flightpath. He says that if a airport was built away from residential areas that planes would be able to fly around the clock instead of facing the restrictions that they do currently. Mark Willingale, partner of Bluebase, the architectural practice behind the Thames Reach plans, said: “It’s a terrific opportunity. You’ve got a combination of 116,000 new homes in the Thames Gateway with new roads and rails to serve them, the location is ideal for an airport. We just wish the government had the vision to see it .”