Prime minister David Cameron was widely criticised in December for putting off the decision on whether Heathrow or Gatwick should be allowed to expand.

Despite the Airports Commission recommending that a third runway at Heathrow should be built, the government has pushed back a decision until the summer, to allow more analysis of the environmental impact of expansion at Heathrow and Gatwick.

Duncan Flynn, from political lobbyist Cavendish, which advises the GTMC business travel organisation, believes that the government will have “to do something” in the summer.

“I expect there to be a decision as it will be hard for the government to spin away a further delay,” he said.

Flynn added that the fact that Heathrow was not mentioned by name in the government’s announcement last month was “bad news” for the airport.

There has been speculation that the runway decision has been delayed due to the London mayoral election in May - Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith is one of the most outspoken opponents of Heathrow expansion.

“I don’t think there’s a fait accompli in favour of a third runway – there’s still all to play for,” added Flynn. “I’m not sure the government has a master plan.

“It’s been delayed until after the London mayoral election – beyond that no final decision has been made. It would be difficult for Goldsmith to fight an election going up against his own government.”

Matt Jaffa, senior development manager of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said it supported the recommendation of the Airports Commission, led by Sir Howard Davies, for a third runway at Heathrow.

“The FSB has a policy of being supportive of whatever Davies came up with. So when they recommended Heathrow, we said ‘let’s back that’,” added Jaffa.

“We believe the government should have followed through with the recommendation of the independent commission. We’re disappointed that it has become politicised and the decision has been put back by six months.”

Jaffa said that 1.5 million small businesses in the UK wanted to use aviation to grow their business but this was made more difficult because Heathrow was operating at full capacity.

GTMC chief executive Paul Wait added: “We will continue to maintain the importance of getting a decision on airport capacity. This is a national issue affecting the economy and not just a London issue.

“We are talking to a lot of MPs who are crying out for better connectivity by air or rail to help their areas and businesses prosper.”