Following the UK Government’s selection of Heathrow Airport’s third runway proposal as the preferred scheme for review under the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS), a Heathrow spokesperson has issued a detailed response welcoming the support but urging swift regulatory clarity to maintain momentum.
“We welcome the Government’s support for our scheme to build a third runway at Heathrow – the UK’s gateway to growth,” the spokesperson said.
“Expanding Heathrow will mean more connectivity, increased trade, improved passenger experience and a huge economic boost for the British businesses that will help design and build it. However, we still need further clarity as to how the crucial next phase of the project will be regulated.
We need definitive decisions from the CAA and Government by mid-December so that delay to the project can be avoided and we can get on with delivering this vital project for our customers and for the UK.”
M25 vs M4 – Heathrow has a tested plan to create a wider, safer stretch of the M25 while keeping motorists on the move. A new section would be built entirely offline, approximately 100 metres to the west of the existing motorway, with traffic switched over upon completion. This section will be future-proofed with additional space for new lanes to be added under the runway at a future point. A shorter runway to the east that avoided the M25 was assessed and deemed unworkable years ago for creating more harm for less benefit.
Crossing the M4 spur is actually more disruptive to traffic, requires up to 1,500 homes to be demolished (double Heathrow’s proposal) and is more complex and costly to deliver because of the surrounding infrastructure. Despite the Arora Group’s claims that their proposal would not impact the M25, the revised plans submitted to Government this month showed they would remove Terminal 5’s junction 14A and tunnel under and bridge over the M25.
The Government wants Heathrow’s third runway to secure planning permission by 2029 with flights operating by 2035. That timeline means starting work on a planning application before the Airports National Policy Statement is finalised (Ministers are due to finalise it by the end of 2026). Given the scale of investment we’d need to make in the planning process, our shareholders will only proceed if the CAA provides certainty that early costs spent before Ministers have finalised the ANPS policy framework are able to be recovered in full. The CAA is expected to provide a decision on this issue in December.
The post Heathrow comments on government backing for third runway appeared first on Air Cargo Week.
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Author: Anastasiya Simsek
