ANOTHER part of the Local Government Association has come out in favour of expanding airports in the South East.

But the Airports Special Interest Group (SIG), from 18 local authorities with majority shareholdings in regional airports, stops short of supporting Cliffe as the SASIG group did recently.

SASIG the Strategic Aviation Special Interest Group caused the association to quickly distance itself from it after it ignored objections from Medway and Kent and said Cliffe should be built.

The SIG says the primary objective of government aviation policy must be to restore the UK's leading role in the provision of air transport services, and to ensure that all regions of the UK have first class connections to markets, services, and facilities, both domestically and internationally.