Heathrow third runway could open up to four years late

Heathrow's planned third runway may open as much as four years later than previously expected. The airport considers the government's target of an operating date by 2035 increasingly hard to hit, pointing to lengthy planning and approval processes.

Heathrow is aiming for construction approval by 2029, after which it expects up to ten years before the runway opens.

The project carries an estimated cost of 33 billion pounds, around 38 billion euros. If built, annual flight movements at the airport could rise from a current maximum of 480,000 to as many as 720,000.

The expansion would require the demolition of hundreds of houses and the rerouting of a section of the M25 motorway into a tunnel.