A NEW airport in the UK revealed plans to operate flights to Europe 24 hours a day - only for it to be scrapped.
The project had several different working titles, including London Britannia Airport, the Thames Hub Airport and even Boris Island.
However, none came to fruition after the plans were formally rejected by the Airports Commission nine years ago.
Hopes for a new London airport date back as far as the 60s, with the capital looking to expand its air capacity.
However, in 2008 then London Mayor Boris Johnson escalated plans for the airport with the Shivering Sands army fort on the Kent coast one of his proposed locations.
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It was a proposed six-runway airport to be built on an artificial island, similar to Hong Kong International Airport.
As a result, the project soon gained the nickname 'Boris Island' before it was formally titled the London Britannia Airport in 2013.
The proposal had a price tag of nearly £50billion and the new facility would have replaced Heathrow as the city's main airport.
Now former Prime Minister, Johnson then insisted it was the only viable answer to the problem of overstretched airports in South-East England.
It wasn't the only proposal put forward however, with a 4-runway airport that would have been built on a platform between the Isle of Grain and the Thames estuary also a potential option.
That was also known as Boris Island, as well as its official title, the Thames Hub Airport.
The site was selected because it could be accessed easily from London, which is just 34 miles away and could have been reached in 26 minutes by high-speed rail.
The proposal to build the airport on a platform, like those at Chek Lap Kok in Hong Kong and New Doha International Airport in Qatar, would allow flights to take off and land over water.
Doing so would reduce noise impact and allow the airport to operate 24 hours a day.
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It was hoped that the airport would be opened in 2029, with an initial handling capacity of 110 million passengers per annum.
However, in 2014 the plans were finally rejected due to fears it could cost as much as £100bn, as well as environmental factors.
The Airports Commission instead recommended a new runway at either Gatwick or Heathrow as an alternative option to increase capacity.
Another airport in that area faces an uncertain future, with London Southend Airport put up for sale after a drastic drop in passenger numbers.
The airport is still in operation, with new easyJet flights to Amsterdam announced in January this year.
However, Ryanair and Wizz Air no longer use the airport.
Meanwhile, this small UK airport could relaunch flights this year.
And this airport could also have more flights to Europe.
