Last month's figures published by Airports Council International, shows London Heathrow has slipped to fourth position in the list of the world's busiest airports by passenger numbers.
This latest report is likely to increase pressure on the Government to give some serious consideration to increasing capacity as both the London Mayor and Heathrow Airport's management team strongly believe the worrying trend of Heathrow's decline in these tables is a direct result of not being able to develop new routes.
Together with increases in tax on aviation, it seems both the short-term and long-term competitiveness of the UK's only hub airport is looking unstable.