Heathrow airport
An impression of an artist showing three tracks at Heathrow Airport
The expansion of Heathrow airport should be welcomed on Wednesday by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, after years of heated debate.
This decision, in parallel with the confirmation of the expansion of other London airports, notably Gatwick and Luton, is likely to be welcomed by fierce opposition.
Critics say that the increase in plane trips would make much more difficult for the United Kingdom to respect its commitments on climate change.
However, Chancellor Rachel Reeves told the BBC: “Sustainable aviation and economic growth go hand in hand”.
How would Heathrow airport be extended?
Heathrow is already the busiest airport in the United Kingdom, serving more than 80 million travelers per year with its four passenger terminals and two tracks.
A third track would mean demolishing hundreds of houses, diverting the rivers and relaunching the M25 motorway between junctions 14 and 15 through a tunnel under the new track.
The number of flights, currently capped at 480,000 per year, could reach 720,000 – or almost 2,000 per day on average.
Heathrow told the BBC that he would finally be able to serve up to 140 million passengers per year once the third track in operation.
The owners of the airport, who include Saudi Arabia and the sovereign funds of Qatar and the investment company Ardian, said that expansion costs would be respected by invoicing airlines for the use of the largest airport.
But after years of argument on the original levels, the initial estimate of costs of 14 billion pounds sterling will have to be revised.
When could a third track open?
Even with government support, the formal planning process could take up to two years.
Any planning decision could then be subject to a judicial examination, as well as the need to answer the questions of adversaries on environmental concerns.
Local authorities and nearby residents will also have questions.
After all this, construction should take six other years.
Does work have a third track?
A third track was proposed for the first time by the Labor government of Gordon Brown in 2009, but was ultimately given only the Supreme Court in 2020.
Several members of the current government – including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer – voted against an expansion of Heathrow when he is in opposition.
However, recently, there have been advice that the Labor government would support a third track.
Starmer told the BBC that the government had climate commitments, “but growth is also very important”.
The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, said: “Any expansion of aviation can only go ahead if it is consistent with our carbon budgets”.
However, the office of the mayor of London Sadiq Khan said that he had “long -standing opposition to the expansion of the airport around London” due to the impact on air quality and noise .
Heathrow’s boss Thomas Woldbye said in December that he was expecting a “clear jester” from the government before being able to make plans.
Could an additional track help the economy?
Certain arguments to invest in the transport infrastructure of the United Kingdom include an increase in growth, more jobs and British export aid.
Other European cities have hub airports with more tracks, including Amsterdam, which serves fewer passengers than Heathrow but has five tracks. Paris Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt have four.
Currently, more than 200 billion British sterling books are spent each year in Heathrow. Heathrow has not designed figures on the quantity of trade which should increase after a third track, which he will do when he arrived at the planning stadium.
The airport commission, an independent panel that examines the need for an additional British airport capacity, examined the likely impact of Heathrow’s expansion and reported in 2015 that there would be advantages to Height of 61 billion sterling pounds over 60 years.
He said it included reduced prices, less delays, greater resilience and the creation of up to 77,000 jobs.
Having ahead with the expansion of Heathrow would also send a clear message to foreign investors that the government means what it says to make growth its priority.
However, some criticisms, notably Think Tank, New Economics Foundation say that the impact on growth is exaggerated, arguing more capacity in the south of England could simply move the activity of other regions.
What would be the environmental impact?
Aviation is a damaged source of emissions that can contribute to climate change, and the industry is under pressure to find ways to reduce its impact.
Reeves highlighted the progress of the creation of sustainable fuels and electric aircraft. A third track in Heathrow would also mean “that instead of bypassing London, flights can land,” she added, which means that less fuel is used.
But it is far from clear that these technologies will be sufficient to compensate for the growing demand for plane trips. Heathrow will have to prove that his plan responds to the Net-Zero of governments by 2050 in any planning request.
Last year, the independent government advisor to reduce the emissions, the climate change committee, warned that the United Kingdom should not go ahead with the expansion of the airport without a framework for Manage capacities across the country.
Friends of the Earth described the plan of a third track as “extremely irresponsible”.
Alethea Warrington, Aviation Manager at Climate Charity Possible, said: “This enormous increase in emissions will not help our economy and simply encourage the small group of frequent leaflets that take most flights.”
What about other airports in Gatwick, Luton and London?
The plans to extend the other London airports are already further than that of Heathrow and have been considered in the past as an alternative to a third Heathrow track.
The work should start this year to increase the capacity of the Stansted terminal.
The government is expected to make a decision at Gatwick airport before February 27.
Gatwick wants to increase its capacity to 75 million passengers per year, according to previously published plans. Pre-cooker, his record was 47 million.
Meanwhile, a decision on the expansion of Luton airport, which includes plans for a new terminal, is due on April 3.
In total, these extensions could create a capacity of more than 60 million additional passengers in the 2040s.
