Plans for a third runway at Heathrow airport are set to be delayed by four years and will not be operational until 2039, dealing a blow to the UK government's growth agenda just as the Labour Party opens its annual conference.
Airport bosses are understood to have told ministers that meeting the original 2035 deadline — set by then-chancellor Rachel Reeves last January — is not possible. Heathrow is now focusing on securing planning permission by 2029, with the runway opening "within a decade" after that.
PM refuses to commit
Speaking to the BBC on Sunday at the start of the conference, Prime Minister Andy Burnham declined to give the project his backing. "I think, principally, it's a matter for London," he said. "It's not right for me to just jump straight in on the back of the consultation."
The refusal is the latest twist in a debate that has divided British politicians for two decades. Reeves had championed the expansion as a way to create 100,000 jobs and kickstart growth; the airport now says it will create at least 108,000 jobs and is 100 per cent privately financed.
Why it matters
Heathrow, the UK's busiest airport, operates at 99 per cent capacity and risks being overtaken by European rivals, Reuters reported. Its two runways compare with four each at Paris Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt and six at Amsterdam Schiphol, and Istanbul overtook Heathrow as Europe's busiest airport this summer.
Residents near the airport, 15 miles west of London, have long complained about noise, safety and carbon emissions. A Department for Transport paper has also suggested other English and Welsh airports could lose millions of passengers if the third runway is built.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said there was currently no live planning application and that "the timeline has always been ambitious."
Sources:
UK PM Burnham refuses to back Heathrow's third runway project — Reuters
Heathrow's third runway delayed until 2039 — PA Media
Airport bosses are understood to have told ministers that meeting the original 2035 deadline — set by then-chancellor Rachel Reeves last January — is not possible. Heathrow is now focusing on securing planning permission by 2029, with the runway opening "within a decade" after that.
PM refuses to commit
Speaking to the BBC on Sunday at the start of the conference, Prime Minister Andy Burnham declined to give the project his backing. "I think, principally, it's a matter for London," he said. "It's not right for me to just jump straight in on the back of the consultation."
The refusal is the latest twist in a debate that has divided British politicians for two decades. Reeves had championed the expansion as a way to create 100,000 jobs and kickstart growth; the airport now says it will create at least 108,000 jobs and is 100 per cent privately financed.
Why it matters
Heathrow, the UK's busiest airport, operates at 99 per cent capacity and risks being overtaken by European rivals, Reuters reported. Its two runways compare with four each at Paris Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt and six at Amsterdam Schiphol, and Istanbul overtook Heathrow as Europe's busiest airport this summer.
Residents near the airport, 15 miles west of London, have long complained about noise, safety and carbon emissions. A Department for Transport paper has also suggested other English and Welsh airports could lose millions of passengers if the third runway is built.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said there was currently no live planning application and that "the timeline has always been ambitious."
Sources:
UK PM Burnham refuses to back Heathrow's third runway project — Reuters
Heathrow's third runway delayed until 2039 — PA Media