Highlights
- Chancellor John Healey says a third runway at Heathrow would support jobs and economic growth.
- British Indian hotel tycoon Surinder Arora has proposed an alternative expansion scheme with a shorter runway.
- Prime minister Andy Burnham has declined to endorse the main project, saying Londoners should have their say.
- Heathrow’s £33 billion expansion plan could face delays, with the new runway potentially opening in 2039.
CHANCELLOR John Healey has backed plans to expand Heathrow Airport, saying a third runway would help drive economic growth, as a dispute over competing expansion proposals and prime minister Andy Burnham’s reluctance to commit support leave the project facing uncertainty.
The debate includes an alternative scheme proposed by British Indian hotel tycoon Surinder Arora, whose Arora Group has put forward a rival plan for expanding the airport through Heathrow West. The proposal centres on a shorter runway, offering an alternative to Heathrow Airport’s preferred design.
The government selected Heathrow’s proposal to inform its review of the national planning framework in November 2025, but the rival scheme has kept questions over the design, cost and delivery of expansion in focus. Arora’s plan is among the competing approaches to increasing capacity at Europe’s busiest airport.
Speaking to reporters at the International Monetary Fund’s annual meetings in Bangkok on Friday (16), Healey said the case for expansion was closely linked to the government’s economic priorities.
“The case for a third runway at Heathrow has always been a case for growth,” he said.
Healey said airport expansion had been an important contributor to jobs and growth in recent decades. His comments put him firmly behind a project that has divided British politicians for years.
Burnham holds back support
Burnham has declined to endorse the third runway, saying the decision should take account of people living near the airport.
“I think we ought to hear the voice of people there first. It’s not right for me to just jump straight in on the back of the consultation,” he said last month.
His position contrasts with that of his predecessor, Keir Starmer, whose government backed Heathrow expansion in 2025. Former chancellor Rachel Reeves had also made the project a central part of the government’s argument that Britain was open for business.
Heathrow’s chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, has warned that the airport needs explicit backing from Burnham by the end of the year to move forward with the project.
Woldbye said the benefits would extend beyond the capital, with supply chains reaching across the UK. He has described failure to build the runway as a “huge missed opportunity”.
Surinder Arora. (Photo: LinkedIn) Arora’s plan could involve a shorter runway, potentially avoiding the need to divert the M25 motorway and significantly reducing costs and time. (Photo: LinkedIn/Surinder Arora)
The Department for Transport said it was reviewing responses to the consultation on the national policy framework, with further decisions and announcements to follow.
Project faces planning and environmental challenges
Heathrow’s expansion plan is estimated to cost £33 billion and would require major infrastructure changes, including demolishing hundreds of homes, diverting rivers and rerouting part of the M25 motorway through a tunnel.
The airport currently operates four passenger terminals and two runways, serving more than 80 million travellers annually. A third runway could increase its annual flight limit from 480,000 to 720,000, equivalent to an average of nearly 2,000 flights a day.
The expansion has attracted support from businesses, airlines and investors, who argue that additional capacity would improve international connections, increase trade and create jobs. Heathrow has said the project could generate more than 100,000 jobs.
However, residents concerned about aircraft noise and environmental campaigners have opposed the plans. An increase in flights would also raise questions about the UK’s ability to meet its climate targets.
The airport had initially expected the new runway to open by 2035, subject to planning approval. It now expects the opening to be delayed until 2039 because of planning and regulatory challenges.
(with inputs from agencies)
