What are Heathrow Airport’s expansion plans?
What are Heathrow Airport’s expansion plans?
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Heathrow Airport's expansion plans may finally go ahead after almost 20 years of debates and delays. Its potential revival comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves indicated she would overrule environmental objections to allow London's biggest airport to carry out its plans in order to prioritise economic growth.
She is expected to use a speech this week to support the expansion, as well as similar plans for Gatwick and Luton. But what exactly does the airport want to do, and why has it proved so controversial?. Heathrow wants a new runway. The west London hub wants to build a third runway to the north-west of the existing two, which it says would enable an additional 260,000 flights per year and "allow Britain as a sovereign nation to compete more effectively for trade".
Its plans also include a new terminal building to the west of Terminal 5 and the eventual demolition of Terminal 3 to make way for a series of new satellite terminals and more public transport. Despite being given parliamentary approval in 2018, plans have been delayed by legal challenges and the COVID pandemic.
Why is it controversial?. Environmental groups have campaigned against the expansion since the plans were drawn up. Last week, Jenny Bates, transport campaigner at Friends of the Earth, called the proposal for another runway at Heathrow "hugely irresponsible in the midst of a climate emergency", while Alethea Warrington, from climate charity Possible, said: "Approving airport expansions would be a catastrophic misstep for a government which claims to be a climate leader.".
