A report calling for a new airport in south-east England has won the backing of London mayor Boris Johnson.
The report, prepared by Transport for London deputy chairman Daniel Moylan, avoids specifying a site.
But he believes London should follow the example of cities which have two major hub airports, such as New York, with Newark and JFK.
The report, which comes counter to government policy, claims the economy will suffer and jobs lost to European competitors without a hub airport.
Johnson said that “we need aviation links that will allow us to compete with our rivals” for London to remain at the centre of global business.
The report found that Heathrow had fallen from second in 1990 to seventh in 2010 in terms of destinations served by worldwide international airports,
The number of destinations that can be directly accessed from Heathrow stood at 157 compared to 224 from Charles de Gaulle in Paris and 235 from Frankfurt, it said.
This showed London’s only hub airport was losing out to other European airports which could have long-term damaging effects on both the London and UK economies.
Johnson, who has previously backed a plan for a new airport in the Thames estuary, said: “The capital’s airports are full, our runways are rammed and we risk losing jobs to Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Madrid or other European cities should we fail to act.
“No other city even approaches the volume of passengers handled at London’s airports but we need to start planning for a brand new airport that can help meet the ever-increasing demand for aviation and act as a hub, particularly to the rest of the UK.”
The mayor is due to host a seminar on south-east England aviation capacity attended by business leaders.
The coalition government scrapped plans for a third runway and sixth terminal at Heathrow when it took office.
A Department for Transport spokesman said the mayor’s suggestions would be considered with regard to its aviation strategy.But he said: “We have made clear that we do not support the construction of additional runways at Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted.
“That is why we are working with interested parties to develop a new framework for aviation which is more sustainable but still supports economic growth.”