article: UK Transport Secretary Chris Grayling announced that the Heathrow expansion had been chosen as the preferred option ahead of a rival bid by Gatwick. The Scottish government formally backed the Heathrow bid earlier this month. It came after the airport made a list of commitments to Scotland, including creating up to 16,000 jobs and investing Â£200m in the country. Heathrow also said it would help to develop new domestic routes to Scottish airports, and would investigate whether Prestwick Airport - which is owned by the Scottish government - could be used as a "logistics hub" for the new runway. Responding to Mr Grayling's announcement, Scotland's economy secretary Keith Brown said he looked forward to the UK government "cracking on with this as soon as possible", while stressing that environmental and planning restraints needed to be taken into account. Mr Brown said: "We announced our support for the third runway at Heathrow two weeks ago, so we are pleased that the UK government has the same view." He predicted there would be "a number of benefits for people in Scotland" as a result of the decision, including "around Â£200m of spend for companies in Scotland, and the establishment of a hub airport in Scotland to support for Heathrow as its undergoing its change in infrastructure". And he added: "Potentially we've seen the airports commission saying there could be around 16,000 jobs for Scotland, and obviously we want to see that followed through. "Beyond that, increased connectedness between Scotland and the rest of the world will benefit our economy and our tourist industry." AGS Airports, which owns Glasgow and Aberdeen airports, also welcomed the announcement, which it said would play an important role in supporting the Scottish economy. But the operators of Edinburgh Airport said ahead of the decision that they believed Gatwick "offered the better deal for Scotland" and described the Heathrow plan as "undeliverable" and potentially "bad for passengers". And both the Scottish Greens and Scottish Liberal Democrats have criticised the announcement. The plan to build a new runway at Heathrow - which is expected to cost more than Â£17bn - now faces a long consultation before it becomes reality, with MPs not voting on the proposals until 2017 or 2018, and the new runway not being opened until 2025 at the earliest. Several Conservative MPs oppose the proposals, including Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Education Secretary Justine Greening and former London Mayor candidate Zac Goldsmith, who has resigned as an MP in protest. The opposition largely centres concerns about the noise and environmental impact of Heathrow expansion, with the decision expected to lead to further protests and legal challenges. Some 783 homes will have to be demolished for the third runway, according to the Airports Commission, including the entire community of Longford and much of Harmondsworth. The new runway will also mean several other residential areas will fall under the Heathrow flight path for the first time. But most airlines and business groups are in favour of expanding Heathrow - Britain's busiest airport - as it offers more direct connections than Gatwick
summary: The decision to build a third runway at Heathrow Airport will benefit Scotland, the Scottish government has said.