Heathrow reported a jump in annual profits this morning after passenger numbers rose to record levels in 2024, just weeks after the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, backed the proposed third runway and said it could be built within 10 years.
The UK’s transport secretary Heidi Alexander said the government “believes in increasing airport capacity”, as a decision looms on the expansion of Gatwick airport.
However, like the Heathrow runway, the Gatwick expansion is controversial, with some MPs, local authorities and residents strongly opposed, who point to increased air and noise pollution, climate concerns and the impact on the local community.
In contrast to previous advice that no airport expansion could take place without big cuts to carbon elsewhere, it was not prescriptive about where or how the expansion could occur.
She has to announce by Thursday whether she has approved Gatwick’s application to bring its emergency northern runway into regular use, which would enable 100,000 more flights every year at the West Sussex airport.
