The boss of budget airline operator Flybe has backed calls for an investigation into whether a new airport could be built off Sheppey.

Jim French says London risks losing billions of pounds of business if a new airport is not built.

The decision to scrap a third runway at Heathrow had “delighted” rivals on the continent, according to Mr French, whose airline operates domestic routes out of Manston airport.

He is backing London Mayor Boris Johnson’s call to look into a controversial new international hub in the Thames Estuary.

He said: “Everyone in Europe is absolutely delighted with what our government has done – they are loving it.

"They believe they can take traffic away from us. We can’t look at the next five or 10 years.

"We have to look at where we’ll be in the next 50 years. We have to put London back on the map.”

Mr Johnson recently sought to revive interest in his scheme, which could cost as much as £40 billion.

He told a conference of leading company chiefs the idea was “fantastically economically powerful” and any failure to support proposals would be a “historic mistake”.

Mr French’s support is at odds with some other operators.

The island airport plans were described as “absolutely nuts” by Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary while Virgin Atlantic’s chief executive Steve Ridgeway said it was “not do-able or deliverable”.

The Mayor of London has commissioned a study to examine in detail the possibility of a four-runway hub airport.

The scheme is widely opposed locally with councils, MPs and conservation groups all united in claiming it is not needed.