The third runway for London Heathrow Airport is now expected not to be completed until at least 2039, insiders have said, after the original deadline of 2035 was deemed unrealistic. It is expected that the airport will secure planning permission by 2039, after which it is expected to be opened within a decade.
This project, at one of Europe's busiest airports, has been talked about for decades, and the ambitious target for 2035 would have needed significant changes in current regulations and policy. The new runway is now planned to be opened within ten years of receiving the planning permission.
From Boris Johnson suggesting a new airport in the River Thames, to the current Prime Minister not being a fan of a third runway at Heathrow at all, the debate is about how London can expand its busiest airport. Last year, the Labour government backed a third runway, arguing that it is vital to support economic growth.
To date, as reported by Reuters, the government has approved a £49 billion ($64.92 billion) Heathrow expansion plan, including £15 billion ($19.88 billion) for the new runway alone. This includes re-routing London's orbital motorway (M25) and designing and building a new airport terminal for £33 billion ($43.73 billion).
Heathrow is currently Europe's busiest airport, and for decades has operated to full capacity. It has just two runways, less than half of what is seen at other major European airports; details below:
With Heathrow serving more than 80 million travelers a year, the airport has warned that the plans for the third runway could be delayed for up to four years (2035 to 2039) due to planning and regulatory issues. Heathrow's earlier deadline has become increasingly difficult to deliver without changes to the planning process.
The Department for Transport (DFT) has stressed that the airport timeline was ambitious and would require any stakeholder to work at pace to ensure the deadline was achievable. For Heathrow, the core scenario has always been to open a third runway, but now the expected completion date will stretch to the end of the next decade.
New Prime Minister Andy Burnham has previously been overly critical of the new runway; however, since his entrance into office, he has been more open-minded on the project. Despite facing opposition from environmental campaigners and residents, the project is expected to create more than 100,000 jobs, and boost the local economy as part of its wider £49 billion ($64.92 billion) modernization of the airport.
The overall cost of the project will be closer to £50 billion, accounting for other related infrastructure projects that are needed to support it.
With Heathrow already bursting at the seams and operating each year to full capacity, the airport's current flights are capped at a total of 480,000 each year. With the addition of a third runway, this would increase the current capacity to 720,000 flights a year, a difference of 240,000 annually, or nearly 2,000 a day. As a comparison, Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport handles around 474,000 flights annually, 478,000 per year at Amsterdam, and 460,000 at Frankfurt.
The draft planning framework for the airport's expansion was published in June this year, and once it is finalized, it will face a parliamentary vote, which may not occur until the next calendar year. There is no current live planning application for the third runway, as confirmed by the DfT and reported by the BBC.
Heathrow's expansion plans are a national project which would be 100% privately financed. This development is vital to support growth and secure the United Kingdom's position as a global economy and transform its largest and busiest airport to be future-ready. Heathrow is one of six airports serving Greater London and is the home of British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.
