BOURNEMOUTH Airport could be down 1,590 flights a year by 2030 once the Heathrow runway is built, an MP claims.

Last night, the House of Commons voted through plans for a third runway at the major London airport.

It comes after Putney MP Justine Greening revealed Department for Transport data in Parliament which suggests that the expansion poses a serious threat to regional airports, including Bournemouth.

She told the Echo: “Regional airports are a brilliant way of connecting regional economies with the global economy. In 21st century Britain we want connections on people’s doorsteps.

“Heathrow is not a monopoly but it has a monopolistic impact, it cannibalises routes which would have gone to regional airports, and Bournemouth will obviously be really badly hit.”

Ms Greening said she had written to all MPs in the South West region to warn them of the potential impact on Bournemouth, Bristol, Exeter and Newquay airports.

The data, which comes from a regional analysis by the Transport Select Committee, shows that Bournemouth Airport could be 43 per cent “smaller” than it would otherwise have been, if the runway is constructed.

Bristol Airport faces losing a whopping 6,994 flights per year by 2030, according to the figures, although this represents a drop in the airport’s potential expansion of only 12 per cent.

“Bournemouth was projected to have 3,700 flights per year without the expansion,” said Ms Greening.

“It is a major problem for these airports.”

Ms Greening said she had not received any response to her email to MPs, which stated: “You may feel ‘it’s time to get on with it’, but the ‘it’ is a clear downgrading of your regional airports’ connections.

“Bournemouth Airport in your region is nearly 43 per cent smaller on international flights by 2030 as a direct consequence of the Airports NPS proposal.”

She said the direct cost of the expansion of Heathrow could be as much as £18 billion, making the airport so expensive that flights from regional airports would not be viable.

Instead, she urges building a second runway at Gatwick and developing “a proper regional airport strategy” to benefit “the South West, Scotland, Wales and the northern powerhouse”.

As last week Regional and City Airports, which operates Bournemouth, said it was not “immediately available for comment” on the issue.

In March the firm unveiled its schedule for the year, with flights to 25 destinations, including a range of new short breaks to destinations such as Iceland and Madeira, and a full programme of winter sunshine destinations with regular flights to Geneva for ski enthusiasts.

The firm also runs Norwich, Exeter, and Coventry Airports, as well as contracts to operate Solent, City of Derry and Blackpool Airports, and says Bournemouth offers passengers in the south “a highly credible alternative to the major London airports”.