A government announcement backing Heathrow's controversial terminal five development will not happen this week.

The prime minister's official spokesman said on Monday that despite renewed media speculation the government would approve the new terminal later this week, no announcement would be made. He denied this indicated a delay in the decision, as no date had previously been set.

But transport minister Stephen Byers, currently the focus of a continuing row over the collapse of Railtrack, has already announced he will make the announcement to MPs in a House of Commons statement.

Reports have suggested that BAA, the privatised airport operator, will be given permission to carry out the development providing it keeps to a commitment that noise levels can be pegged to 1994 levels.

Tougher restrictions on night flights could also form part of the approval package following a surprise European Court of Human Rights ruling that the level of noise from night flights had violated the human rights of residents.

The new £2.5 billion terminal, which will chiefly be used by British Airways, is already running four years late following the longest and most expensive planning inquiry in British history.

The report of the planning inspectors has been with Byers since December last year, and even if the terminal is approved, it is not expected to open before 2007.

The government announcement came as airlines began preparations to campaign for a new runway to be built at Heathrow rather than Gatwick or Stansted - a move certain to further annoy local residents.

The speculation surrounding Heathrow came as the government published a report on responses to a public consultation on air transport policy as part if its moves towards the publication of an air transport white paper.

The government is committed to publishing a white paper in the second half of 2002, the first such policy statement since 1985. Ministers are aiming to prepare an airports policy that can cope with demand over the next 30 years, including the issue of additional runway capacity in south-east England.

With a total of 561 responses, the report on the consultation exercise found around 35 per cent of respondents arguing that current growth patterns should not be allowed to continue because the costs were too high, and that policies should be adopted to limit and manage demand for air travel.

About 15 per cent of responses to a question on consumer needs said they could not be met without more capacity, including the building of a close parallel runway at Heathrow and a second runway at Stansted.