Heathrow chief presses UK Parliament to approve third runway

Heathrow is pressing the UK Parliament to approve the Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement, the planning document that would clear the way for a third runway. The airport's chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, said more than 40 airlines want slots at the capacity-constrained hub and could take their growth to competing airports abroad if the expansion does not go ahead.

According to the airport, the £33 billion ($43 billion) project would be privately funded and would create more than 100,000 jobs and 5,000 apprenticeships, while lifting cargo export capacity by 50%. Heathrow says the Department for Transport has confirmed the expansion can be delivered within the country's 2050 net-zero emissions target.

That assessment is contested. The Climate Change Committee concluded last month in a government-commissioned report that there is "no credible pathway" for a third runway unless new legislation obliges the aviation industry to cut its emissions by 2050 under a "polluter pays" principle.

Heathrow says business groups, trade unions, regional airports and a growing number of politicians support the plan, and points to polling in local boroughs showing 68% of residents in favour. Airports including Aberdeen, Belfast City, Newquay, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford, Newcastle and Teesside back the expansion as a way to strengthen domestic links to global markets, according to Heathrow.

The airport argues that demand for access to the UK's main hub continues to outstrip capacity, and that carriers wanting to start or expand services are being pushed towards rival overseas hubs instead, taking connectivity and economic growth out of the UK.