The Airports Commission initially short-listed two expansion proposals for Heathrow -alongside a second runway at Gatwick - before it finally recommended that a new Heathrow runway should be built to the north-west of the existing airport.

But Walsh, who is chief executive of British Airways’ owner International Airlines Group (IAG), said the second Heathrow proposal to extend the northern runway, known as the Heathrow Hub, should also be considered by the government.

“While there are doubts about expanding the northern runway, the government must look very closely at this option because it’s significantly cheaper,” said Walsh during the Abta Travel Matters conference in London.

“You would have the same number of flights at a cost one-third less than the new north-west runway.”

The government is due to make a decision on airport expansion this summer after putting it off in late 2015 to gather extra information on the environmental impact of the options at Heathrow and Gatwick.

Walsh again criticised the proposed £17.6 billion cost of the new Heathrow runway and warned that it would push up airfares if the airport raised passenger charges to pay for expansion.

“There’s no justification for airlines to pre-fund new infrastructure – today’s customers should not be expected to pay for a runway which will not be built for 10 years,” he added.

“It’s my strong belief that you cannot trust Heathrow to deliver anything in a cost-efficient way – customers have been ripped off for years.”

Walsh said that domestic and short-haul routes could also disappear if Heathrow increased charges to pay for the new runway.

He argued that if the new runway is to be built, it should be a phased development with the runway being built first and current facilities being used initially.

Walsh also dismissed Gatwick’s case for expansion and warned that IAG would “consider” its position at the Sussex airport if it used higher charges to pay for a new runway.

“We struggle to see any business case for Gatwick,” added Walsh. “We would have to consider our position because of the cost of that expansion. Raising airport charges would wipe out the profit we make there.”

Doreen McKenzie, owner of Knock Travel in Northern Ireland, said it was “critical” to increase UK hub capacity to improve connectivity around the UK.

“It should be decided sooner rather than later although at a cheaper cost,” she added. “People are still price sensitive and don’t want to see charges go up.”