Heathrow to announce third runway plans as PM unveils airport expansion

Times

31-07-2025

Sir Keir Starmer is poised to usher in the biggest expansion of Britain's airports for half a century as Heathrow prepares to unveil plans for a third runway.
The prime minister is prepared to do 'whatever it takes' to ensure there are 'spades in the ground' by 2030 at Heathrow and on other major aviation projects.
The government is also expected to formally approve plans for a second runway at Gatwick in coming weeks and is pressing ahead with the biggest ever overhaul of Britain's airspace to enable quicker flights and fewer delays.
Ministers are also introducing legislation to curb the ability of campaigners to use judicial reviews to block infrastructure projects. Starmer said earlier this year that he would 'override the whims of nimbies'.
Starmer is pressing for airport expansion in a bid to galvanise economic growth. 'He'll do whatever it takes on this,' a senior government source said. 'He's up for the fight. He views aviation as a key driver of economic growth.'
By the end of Thursday, Heathrow will submit its proposals for a third runway, which is expected to cost between £45 billion and £60 billion. The plans are expected to include diverting a section of the M25 through a tunnel running underneath the new runway.
The plans have proved hugely contentious in the past. They were first mooted as far back as 2003 but have been subject to years of delays, political opposition and legal challenges amid concerns over air and noise pollution.
Ministers had set a deadline of July 31 for plans for expansion to be submitted. The Times understands at least two other schemes have been presented to the government from rival developers.
Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, will review the submissions before a consultation on the airports national policy statement, the framework under which permission for a new runway can be granted. Only then can any full planning application be submitted.
In January, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, announced that the government wanted to push ahead with a third runway, arguing that sustainable aviation fuels were a 'game changer'.
She said: 'The way that we fly has changed hugely in recent years. Engines have become so much more efficient, reducing carbon emissions, and also sustainable aviation fuel is changing the way that we fly.
'We want to see spades in the ground in this parliament. We have asked Heathrow to come forward with plans by this summer and then we want to grant that development consent order by the end of this parliament, so we can get the diggers in the ground to get this project up and running.'
A third runway is expected to receive the backing of a majority of MPs if there is a vote in the Commons, although the issue is divisive. Sir Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, is strongly opposed and has suggested he is prepared to mount a legal challenge.
Heathrow is expected to seek assurances from the government if it is to push ahead with the scheme and the investment required.
Ministers are preparing to announce the creation of an Airspace Design Service, which will redraw the corridors planes use. It will be the biggest overhaul since their creation in the 1950s, when there were only about 200,000 flights a year, compared with 2.7 million last year.
It will change the routes planes must take when flying in an attempt to increase efficiency and reduce air traffic control delays.
Pilots routinely complain about the routing they must take when arriving at London-area airports, saying it adds ­unnecessary time to flights. A plane flying from Spain to Luton is often required to travel as far north as Cambridge only to turn around and head south for its ­approach. Similarly, flights from the US are regularly stacked east of London before turning back to land at Heathrow.
The redesign of Britain's air space is integral to dealing with the additional traffic that would be caused by a third runway at Heathrow.
The new runway would allow the west London airport to handle 276,000 new flights annually, taking the total to 756,000 a year, and 66 million more passengers.
Starmer is also planning to curb the ability of environmental groups and other campaigners to bring legal challenges. The prime minister said earlier this year that the courts were being 'abused by pressure groups' to block vital projects.
Under changes due to take effect later this year, campaign groups and local residents will be given a maximum of two chances to apply for judicial review of nationally significant projects, down from three. Challenges deemed by a High Court judge to be 'totally without merit' will be refused permission to appeal.
The government is also expected to give its formal approval to bring Gatwick's second 'emergency' runway into regular use in coming weeks, provided there is a compromise on noise and public transport.
Alexander said earlier this year she was 'minded to approve' the runway. She is expected to give it the final green light in the autumn.