“It has never been more important and urgent to expand Heathrow, as we are operating at full capacity to the detriment of trade and connectivity,” stated Heathrow’s Director-General, Thomas Woldbye, in a statement.
The UK government approved in January a third runway for London’s Heathrow hub, but the proposal will be funded “100% by private funds,” emphasized the company in a statement.
The official go-ahead, given by Finance Minister Rachel Reeves, was criticized by environmental organizations, who pointed out that it would increase noise and air pollution.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, also opposed to the project, denounced the “severe impact” that the third runway would have on London residents and the achievement of environmental goals.
The airport, inaugurated in 1946, assured today that if nothing is done, “the UK risks losing its status as a global aviation hub in the face of growing competition from European hubs” — currently, the main ones are Paris Charles de Gaulle and the airports in Istanbul and Amsterdam.
According to Heathrow, these works would allow the platform’s capacity to increase to accommodate “up to 150 million passengers” annually, up from 84 million in 2024.
In light of concerns about delays in the schedule and budget, the group claims it can deliver a third runway “within ten years” for 21 billion pounds (24.28 billion euros).
The remainder of the budget, foreseen for “the coming decades,” will be devoted to expansion and modernization.
This amount adds to a previous investment plan of 10 billion pounds (11.6 billion euros) by 2031, announced at the beginning of July, which already aims to renew the facilities.
At the end of 2020, the British Supreme Court ruled in favor of a third runway. But the project was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Heathrow submitted its proposal to the British government, which includes a 3,500-meter runway. However, the Arora Group, one of the largest landowners at Heathrow, announced on Thursday that it would submit a competing proposal for constructing a shorter third runway.
Luis Gallego, Chief Executive Officer of International Airlines Group (IAG), parent company of British Airways based at Heathrow, considered today that the competing proposal was “credible,” on the sidelines of the group’s financial results publication (which saw its net profit increase by 44% in the first half).
However, the executive assured that he did not have a preference between the two projects on the table.
“We need to work closely with both parties to better understand what they offer, as the proposals are not comparable,” he stated.
Heathrow, for its part, said it is willing to discuss a shorter runway but believes that this will not necessarily reduce the costs.
