Mayor Boris Johnson proposes closing Heathrow as an airport and transforming it into Great Britain's version of U.S.-based Silicon Valley, said Kit Malthouse, an aide to Johnson.

The new airport would be built on an artificial island in Kent and would transport passengers to and from London on trains with bags checked at the station rather than the airport, The Times of London reported Sunday.

"If we can build St. Paul's, the Gherkin, the Channel tunnel and all the rest of it, we Can Do this," Malthouse said. "We just need a bit of courage."

The proposed airport would have four runways and operate 24 hours a day with planes descending from the North Sea, unlike Heathrow, which has two runways and a limited number of operating hours to reduce noise from planes descending over neighborhoods, The Telegraph reported Sunday.

The airport, which would be modeled after the Hong Kong airport, likely will be opposed by BAA, Heathrow's owner, the Telegraph reported.