Transport minister David Jamieson has refused to rule out a second runway for Gatwick Airport.
Mr Jamieson was pressed during a Commons debate on the aircraft noise already suffered by residents.
He said reports suggesting the Government had found a way of overcoming an agreement barring a second runway being built before 2019 were speculation.
He said: "I do not pretend to know what the aviation industry or Gatwick Airport will look like in ten years' time."
Virginia Bottomley MP had asked him to comment on a series of leaks that ministers would back a second runway when a Whitehall review into airport capacity was published later this year.
It has been claimed the Government is confident of overcoming an agreement signed by West Sussex County Council and the British Airports Authority in 1979 which would outlaw such a move.
Mrs Bottomley said: "The fact is a new runway at Gatwick would be the most deplorable act."
She pointed out it would increase the number of passengers passing through Gatwick each year from 30 million to between 80 and 100 million.
The South West Surrey MP added: "That would be three times as many aircraft, three times as much noise, three times as much pollution and three times as much airport-related traffic."
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