RESIDENTS in the south of Newport would not want to put up with planes flying overhead to serve a proposed Severnside Airport.

A Newport councillor for Llanwern said he didn’t think a new airport, proposed to be built near Severn Estuary, would be feasible or popular with people in the area.

Meanwhile the MP for Newport East said the argument for an airport in the area had been rejected before.

Two proposals have been made to the Airports Commission, which is looking at the future of air terminals in Britain, proposing that an airport be built in the Severn Estuary.

Consultancy MSP Solutions have proposed an airport that could be built by 2029 on a site between Newport and Chepstow and attract as many as 30 million passengers by 2040.

The idea would feature road access to the M4 and potentially employ 1,000 people but would require the closure of both Cardiff and Bristol airports. A map in the firm's submission suggests it would be built along the coast to the south east of Newport.

Another idea, by a private individual, has proposed an Airport is built on an island in the Estuary, south of Redwick.

Martyn Kellaway, Tory Llanwern councillor, said: “I can’t see local residents being happy about it. There was particularly concern about the impact of the original proposals.

“I don’t think it would be particularly feasible. I know the residents of Llanwern wouldn’t be happy about aeroplanes flying over their homes.”

Jessica Morden, Labour MP for Newport East, said: “Any individual is entitled to put in their views to this commission.”

But she added: “We have this argument before and it was rejected.”

The chief executive of Bristol Airport, Robert Sinclair, previously called the idea for a Severnside Airport “far-fetched” and said it had been previously dismissed by as it would struggle to attract enough traffic to be viable.

However MSP Solutions' John Borkowski has defended the project, telling the BBC that the airport would be much more attractive than Cardiff and Bristol with state of the art facilities.

He told the broadcaster that the airport would have facilities for full service airlines and not just low-cost carriers.

The Institute of Welsh Affairs earlier this year proposed that the Welsh Government’s purchase of Cardiff Airport should only be a stop-gap until a new Severnside Airport between Newport and Chepstow is built.