Donington wants to limit air traffic

"We are working with them to ensure we minimise their traffic," Donington boss Simon Gillett told the Loughborough Echo.

"We don't necessarily have to fully close them, but we are thinking when the race is on, no one is going to be flying in or out.

"The idea is that at peak times the airport has exclusive use for Formula One and us. We're looking to charter a lot of planes anyway.

"We would bring people in ourselves from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bristol, Manchester, London, France, Belgium, Germany, all over Europe."

A spokesperson for the airport said, however, that they had not talked about shutting down the airport completely.

"We are holding discussions with Donington Park as part of a multi-agency group," she said. "These are ongoing discussions, but closing the airport hasn't been raised in these meetings."

Donington Park is expected to host the British Grand Prix from 2010, replacing Silverstone as the venue for the race.