The cabinet was split and numerous environmental groups objected, but the majority of business groups welcomed the decision.

Below are some reactions:

BORIS JOHNSON, FOREIGN SECRETARY, FORMER LONDON MAYOR

"I do think that building a third runway slap bang in the middle of the western suburbs of the greatest city on Earth is not the right thing to do. No other world city would dream of subjecting so many hundreds of thousands of people to more noise pollution in the way that a third runway would.

"You'd have New York, a city of beautiful skyscrapers, Paris the city of light, London the city of planes. Is that really what we want for our fantastic capital city?

"Heathrow in the long-term is not in the right place and I'm afraid a third runway is undeliverable ... I think it very likely it will be stopped.

"We can satisfy the need for connectivity with the rest of the world without creating an unacceptable erosion of the quality of life of the people of this city ... with a 24-hour four-runway hub airport in the Thames estuary. That is the answer."

SADIQ KHAN, LONDON MAYOR

"This is the wrong decision for London and the whole of Britain. Government is riding roughshod over Londoners' views.

"At the moment, there are more people affected by noise because of Heathrow than people affected by the airports in Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Munich and Madrid combined. At the moment, the air in London is a killer. It makes you sick and it's unlawful.

ZAC GOLDSMITH, CONSERVATIVE LAWMAKER, FORMER LONDON MAYORAL CANDIDATE, WHO HAS THREATENED TO RESIGN OVER THE DECISION

"The government has chosen a course that is not only wrong, it's doomed. It’s wrong because of the million people who will directly suffer on the back of the environmental harm this project unavoidably produces, and doomed because of the complexities, the costs, the legal complications (that) mean that this project is almost certainly not going to be delivered.

"I believe this will be a millstone around this government’s neck for many, many years to come, constant source of delay, constant source of anger and betrayal among those people who will be directly affected."

WILLIE WALSH, CEO OF BRITISH AIRWAYS-OWNER IAG (>> International Consolidated Airlns Grp SA):

"We’re pleased that a decision has finally been made but the cost of this project will make or break it. The Government’s directive to cap customer charges at today’s level is fundamental. Heathrow is the world’s most expensive hub airport so it’s critical that new capacity is affordable."

JOHN HOLLAND-KAYE, CEO, HEATHROW AIRPORT

"We'll be setting up the first new contracts in the supply chain within the next few weeks. We want to make sure we deliver the hub airport that Britain so vitally needs as quickly as possible. I’m 100 percent confident that the third runway at Heathrow will be built. Why am I so confident? The Prime Minister said that it will be built. The aviation sub-committee of the cabinet says it will be built."

GATWICK CHIEF EXECUTIVE STEWART WINGATE, WHOSE AIRPORT HAD HOPED TO BE SELECTED TO BUILD A NEW RUNWAY

“We are disappointed as we do not believe this is the right answer for Britain. Gatwick has put forward a credible financeable and deliverable plan for expansion.

“It is a plan that can guarantee growth and guarantee certainty for Britain.

“The challenges facing Heathrow have not changed.  Our message today is that Gatwick stands ready to proceed when the time comes.”

RICHARD ROBINSON, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF CIVIL INFRASTRUCTURE, EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST, INDIA AND AFRICA AT ENGINEERING FIRM AECOM

"This is a welcome fillip for the UK's infrastructure sector and the businesses that rely on it. The focus now must be on accelerating delivery."

JAMES THORNTON, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF CLIENT EARTH, AN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW ORGANISATION

"The government needs to produce an in-depth and credible plan to drastically cut air pollution to meet its legal obligations rather than digging an even deeper hole for itself."

JOHN SAUVEN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT GREENPEACE UK

"A third runway at Heathrow would be a waste of time, money and lives. It would make Londoners' air more dangerous to breathe, contributing to an air pollution crisis that already kills thousands. And it would load the atmosphere with as much extra carbon as some entire countries pump out."

"We stand ready to take the May government to court on this, side by side with Conservative west London councils. This runway has been defeated before and can be defeated again."

LOUISE ELLMAN, OPPOSITION LABOUR PARTY LAWMAKER AND CHAIR OF PARLIAMENT'S TRANSPORT COMMITTEE

"This decision will boost business, create training opportunities and new jobs and open the UK to new markets. 

"We recognise it won't be an easy journey ... We urge the Government to have the courage of their convictions and press ahead so that the timetable to deliver the additional capacity by 2030 can be delivered."

(Reporting by Sarah Young, Estelle Shirbon, Costas Pitas, William James and Kylie MacLellan; editing by Giles Elgood)