Panoramic view of airplanes at Heathrow Airport in London, UK, in front of the London skyline on October 11, 2016.
Jack Taylor | Getty Images News | Getty Images
LONDON – Heathrow Airport’s chief executive said on Monday he would push the British government to make a final decision on the London airport’s third runway by the end of 2025, adding that the latest discussions had seen “positive momentum” .
Thomas Woldbye told the Airlines 2024 conference that airports needed extra capacity which would support the government’s economic growth and industrial strategy. However, he said it would ultimately be up to the state to approve the plans, which have been controversial for decades.
“Heathrow is running out of capacity… so if we want to go beyond a certain number at Heathrow, whether it’s 90 million passengers or whatever, we need a third runway,” Waldby said. This is not a discussion.
“So the next thing is, if this is what we want, how do we realize this. ‘We’ here are not just Heathrow, but airlines, governments, parliaments, everyone around us .Decide”.
“The project is there, we know how to build it. It’s been around for a long time,” he continued. “I say all this to the (UK government), the demand is there. But this will be one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the history of the UK, so we have to ask the government, are you willing to be part of this journey? If not, we forget .
Walderbye added that there was “absolutely positive momentum” behind such discussions with the committee new labor administrationand he expects a final decision to be made “somehow” before the end of 2025.
“Otherwise we will continue to waste money and time. I take the decision seriously and make the right decision,” he said, adding that it would be a decision guided by the UK’s overall strategy. Walderbye explained that if the project did receive government approval but without public funding, the airport would have to put forward a clear, costed proposal to Heathrow shareholders, which he was confident would be supported.
He said the airport was trying to increase capacity as much as possible through efficiency measures on its existing two runways and was working on a growth plan that would not involve a third runway.
Speaking at the same conference earlier in the day, Transport Secretary Louise Hague said: “I will always support airport expansion as long as it boosts our economy and delivers on our environmental commitments.”
The debate over whether to build a third runway at Europe’s busiest airport has raged for nearly two decades, but plans have Subject to multiple government and legal reviews and public consultations.
environmental groups Friends of the Earth There is strong opposition to the expansion of Heathrow Airport on the grounds that it will increase greenhouse gas emissions and harm local wildlife. Others think it will Increase noise pollution and traffic in busy residential areas, and will require significant public disruption, including major works to the M25, a major road around London.
In 2020, the UK Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling that the previous government’s approval of the third runway was unlawful because it failed to take into account the country’s commitments under the Paris Agreement.
The expansion of Heathrow will be welcomed by many airlines, which have long chafed at the fierce competition and high cost of buying slots at the transport hub.
Passenger numbers at Heathrow Airport surged from 62 million in 2022 to 79 million in 2023, as pandemic travel continues to rebound. The airline carried a record 80.9 million passengers in 2019.
below Airport expansion plan announced six years ago,Right now Expected to be updated, the project will see the construction of a third runway to the northwest of the existing two runways, as well as the construction of a new terminal to replace the existing Terminal 3.
Its current operating limit is 480,000 flights per year, and current plans will add another 260,000 flights on this basis.
