UK: Decision on UK airport expansion on track for summer

Britain should make a decision on where to build an additional runway this summer, its transport minister said, dismissing concerns it could be further delayed by a referendum on EU membership. PM David Cameron could reach a deal over Britain's ties with the EU at a summit later this month, paving the way for a public vote on membership of the bloc possibly in June. Transport Minister Patrick McLoughlin said he did not think a June referendum would derail the current timetable for deciding on expanding either Heathrow, Britain's busiest airport, or Gatwick, the second-busiest. The decision has been delayed repeatedly. "If the referendum is June 23, the date that has been talked about, then I think we still could be on target to make it (the decision) before the end of July," McLoughlin told a panel of MPs, adding that he did not know when the vote would be. "I very much hope that by the summer of this year we will have a location decision," he said.<br/>