Heathrow Airport's £33bn third runway plan chosen by government

Heathrow's £33bn plan for a third runway has been chosen as the plan to expand the airport, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has announced.

It means the competing plan for a shorter runway, as proposed by hotel tycoon Surinder Arora, has been rejected.

Heathrow says the project will be 100% privately financed, through higher airline costs, and no taxpayer money will be used to build the runway or the associated infrastructure.

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Heathrow plans to spend £33bn on the third runway and £15bn to upgrade the existing airport.

But it will require re-routing the M25 motorway - one of the busiest in the country and the demolition of nearby villages, Longford and Harmondsworth.

Harmondsworth resident and part of campaign group Stop Heathrow Expansion, Justine Bayley, said there's a "here we go again" feeling among locals.

"We don't actually believe [the third runway] is going to happen but we're being put through the wringer once more".

Locals wishing to move have faced difficulty finding buyers, as prospective purchasers have difficulty getting mortgages for the homes, she said.

But as the runway plans are not new, Ms Bayley said, "we're no further forward than before".

What next?

The proposal is still subject to the planning process, including consultation and parliamentary scrutiny.

The full length of the runway is not known, as the layout and associated infrastructure implications will continue to be considered by the Department for Transport.

The department added the selection of Heathrow's scheme does not represent a final decision on a third runway or its design.

Why's it being built?

The government has said the additional runway could grow the economy and create more than 100,000 jobs, based on research commissioned by Heathrow Airport.

With a third runway, Heathrow could receive 150 million passengers a year, up from 83.9 million last year.

The airport earlier this year announced plans to increase its capacity by 10 million passengers a year, before a third runway is built, and to raise the charge paid by passengers to fund the investment.

Climate consideration

Ms Alexander wrote to independent government advisers of the Climate Change Committee (CCC) on Tuesday, formally seeking its views on the expansion of Heathrow and how it would impact state carbon budgets, which designate emissions caps.

Rising emissions from flying are risking the UK's climate targets, the CCC said. The body found flights contribute more greenhouse gas than the entire electricity supply sector.

When could it be built?

The government hopes a planning decision will be made by 2029, with the third runway being built by 2035.

But Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary, who has consistently refused to use Heathrow on operational and cost grounds, has claimed the chance of it being built is "slim", but it could be 2050 even if it does get built.

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