• heathrow_17581988126223
    London Heathrow Airport
    IATA/ICAO Code:
    LHR-EGLL
    Country:
    United Kingdom
    CEO:
    John Holland-Kaye
    Passenger Count :
    19,392,178 (2021)
    Runways :
    09L/27R - 3,902m (12,802ft) | 09R/27L - 3,660m (12,008ft)
    Terminals:
    Terminal 2 | Terminal 3 | Terminal 4 | Terminal 5

Following a hiatus of two years due to the pandemic, the political hot topic of London Heathrow expansion is back making news and inciting further debate, as a final decision to start the work appears to be imminent.

A long time coming

Following years of legal wrangling, during which time the planning case for the expansion of London Heathrow Airport (LHR) has been kicked around like a political football, there is finally some indication that matters may be about to get moving on this hugely contentious project.

The UK Government is due to unveil its shiny new ten-point plan for aviation in the UK today. Symbolically, the announcement, due to be made by the current aviation minister, Robert Courts, is expected to be made at London's premier international airport, located to the west of central London.

According to the Telegraph newspaper, UK Government insiders have indicated that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has "opened the door" to the expansion of Heathrow going ahead, with his ministers ready to commit their support to the development of Heathrow Airport after years of wrangling both within the Conservative party itself and with various opposition groups.

The plans include a new 11,700 ft (3,500m) runway located to the north of the existing northern runway, allowing for an additional 260,000 movements per year. Additionally, a new terminal would be built to the west of the existing Terminal 5.

With the removal of Terminal 3, a series of new satellite terminals would be constructed, with the associated improvements made to local transport infrastructure and facilities.

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The expansion plans include a new runway, shown on the left. Photo: Heathrow Airport

Opposition at the very top of Government

In the past, even Boris Johnson himself has been steadfast in his disapproval of the plans for the expansion of the airport.

As the local Member of Parliament for Uxbridge, a town located just a stone's throw from the airport itself, Johnson has historically remained against the expansion, citing his constituents' fears of additional noise, pollution, and the new runway representing an "aviation Trojan horse, unlocking the gates for even further expansion the future."

Johnson even vowed to "lie down in front of the bulldozers" in one particularly angry exchange in Parliament back in June 2018.

A change in tone from Westminster?

However, today's Government announcement marks a crucial change of tone, which has been able to sidestep the topic of the third runway during the pandemic. It appears that the mood music now coming from Westminster indicates that the green light for work to start at Heathrow is imminent.

In a move that risks angering opponents of Heathrow's US$18 billion expansion, ministers are said to be "vowing to support growth in airport capacity where it is justified" in the ten-point plan to be unveiled today.

Other commitments are likely to include the setting up an aviation council designed to facilitate how industry executives can contribute to and might influence Government policy. A charter to ensure passengers can access refunds more easily and pledges on the production of sustainable aviation fuel are also expected to be included.

Such expansion is described as vital by the airport owners, Heathrow Airport Limited, who fear that without the development, the airport will lose out to major European airports such as Frankfurt, Amsterdam, and Paris.

Speaking in advance of the UK government announcement today, Mr Courts told the Telegraph that,

"By working closely with the sector to focus on sustainable growth, powered by the latest innovations, we can ensure aviation creates jobs and opportunities across all four nations of the UK."

A hugely contentious debate

The highly contentious issue of the third runway at Heathrow has been in and out of court for years. Climate protesters challenged the initial plans, leading to a lengthy public inquiry, although the plans finally received the approval they needed.

They were then stalled again in a legal bottleneck as campaigners against the expansion took the planning decision to the Appeal Court. However, although the appeal was successful, it was later overturned by the Supreme Court (the highest Court in England and Wales), which left the campaign against expansion with nowhere left to go.

With the aviation sector plunged into a crisis from Covid travel restrictions, and with Heathrow Airport itself slowly clawing its way back to pre-pandemic levels of passengers and movements, the expansion plans have effectively been parked by Heathrow's owners as the airport dealt with the significant financial fallout from the pandemic.

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Photo: Getty Images

Additionally, a war of words ensued between the airport owners and the Government during the pandemic. Frustrated by frequent and sometimes short-notice changes to UK travel restrictions, Heathrow Airport bosses repeatedly clashed with ministers over the Government's "flip-flopping", rendering the airport unable to make money as a business, let alone make significant forward planning decisions.

A spokesperson for Heathrow was taking a cautious approach in advance of today's announcement. in light of the problematic relationship between the Government and the airport owners in recent years, he said,

"We need the Government to bring pace to the policies that will allow the sector to fulfill the ambitions they are setting out today. Failure to do this will only see [the expansion of Heathrow] grounded."

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Will the work finally start at Heathrow?

Once again, the future of the UK's leading international airport is under the spotlight. After years of the expansion plans for Heathrow remaining either on the drawing board or being fiercely debated within various courts of the English legal system or indeed the Houses of Parliament, are we now just about to see some movement that will lead to the development work starting?

As reported just yesterday with similar plans for the runway expansion at Southampton Airport, the ongoing debate between the need for airport development to sustain economic growth against those arguments that cite climate change and environmental damage resulting from such developments is as contentious as ever.

Such arguments, examples of which are being held worldwide, show no sign of abating as the need for aviation businesses to get back on their financial feet following the pandemic continues to be a priority.

London Heathrow Airport
Photo: Getty Images

Stressing the dire financial and commercial situation that UK airports have found themselves in following COVID-19 while also having a thinly-veiled dig at the amount of state aid that overseas airports have received, Karen Dee, head of the Airport Operators Association, said,

"It is vital that the Government not only provide policy certainty to achieve a UK-wide recovery but also that they back their ambitions with funding. UK airports have come out of the pandemic in a worse financial position than many of their international competitors, who received significantly more generous funds from their governments to weather the pandemic."

Simple Flying will be watching the latest developments regarding the expansion of Heathrow Airport closely and will, of course, bring updates on this story as they occur. In the meantime, remember you can always keep up to date with us for all the latest commercial aviation news to avoid missing any of the critical stories affecting the industry.

Source: The Telegraph