It voiced concerns that airlines would end up paying more than their fair share of the £17.6 billion constructions costs.

The Times reported that Virgin also demanded that the airport “share the benefits of growth between consumers, businesses and local residents”.

A spokesperson for the airline added: “The exorbitant cost of new infrastructure must be reined in, and today’s passengers must not be asked to fund infrastructure they may never use, or not for another 10 years.”

However, they did acknowledge the need for a third runway.

The comments come as the decision over additional capacity looks likely to be delayed until next week.

A 10-strong cabinet sub-committee was due to meet yesterday to discuss the building of additional capacity.

However, it was postponed to make time for preparations for today’s Commons debate and vote on the decision to start bombing Syria.