A new group comprising representatives from across the aviation sector has been created in a bid to improve operations at airports in south east England.

Initially focussing on London's Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports, the taskforce is designed to help reduce long queues and the number of delayed flights and will be chaired by aviation minister Theresa Villiers. Transport secretary Philip Hammond said: "We have been clear in our opposition to additional runways at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, so the challenge we face now is making them better within existing runway capacity constraints."

Members of the group will include representatives from the Civil Aviation Authority, the National Air Traffic Service (NATS), airports and airlines, in addition to environmental and passenger agencies.