Heathrow third runway plans 'catastrophic'

Building a third runway at Heathrow Airport would have a "catastrophic" environmental impact, campaign groups have claimed amid reports that the chancellor is preparing to back the project.

Rachel Reeves is expected to use a speech on growth next week to support the proposed third runway at the west London airport and endorse expansion at Gatwick and Luton airports, the BBC understands.

Opponents of airport expansion say that increasing flight capacity would be damaging for the environment

The government said all expansion proposals must demonstrate they will contribute to economic growth while meeting environmental commitments.

The project secured parliamentary approval in June 2018 but was delayed by legal challenges brought by environmental campaigners and by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Alethea Warrington, head of aviation at climate charity Possible, said: "Approving airport expansions would be a catastrophic misstep for a government which claims to be a climate leader.

"This huge increase in emissions won't help our economy, and would just encourage the small group of frequent flyers who take most of the flights, further worsening the UK's huge tourism deficit."

She added that the government should focus on supporting "affordable and low-carbon trains and buses".

Jenny Bates, transport campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said that approving a third runway at Heathrow would be "hugely irresponsible in the midst of a climate emergency".

She added: "It would also fly in the face of the prime minister's promise to show international leadership on climate change."

Thomas Woldbye, the chief executive of Heathrow Airport, told BBC London last month: "We need to be joined up with both government and our airlines to say this is what we all want and what is it we contribute to make this a success."

He added: "The way I look at it is that Heathrow is uniquely well connected to the rest of the world and all of you get benefits from that.

"If we are to keep pace with economic growth, we need to expand beyond what we can do with the current runways."

If any airport expansions were to go ahead, they would prove "vital" to the UK's business growth, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, Shevaun Haviland, told the BBC.

Paul McGuinness, who chairs anti-Heathrow expansion group the No 3rd Runway Coalition, said Gatwick and Luton's expansion projects were "oven ready" whereas any application by Heathrow could take "years to process".

He added: "Any signals from government that Heathrow's expansion will not be impeded are meaningless, when other expansions in the South East will have already rendered Heathrow expansion uneconomic."

Heathrow's expansion plans have been divisive for the Labour Party in the past, with Sir Keir Starmer voting against a third runway in 2018 while Reeves supported it.

A government spokesman said: "We are determined to get our economy moving and secure the long-term future of the UK's aviation sector.

"All expansion proposals must demonstrate they contribute to economic growth, which is central to our Plan for Change, while remaining in line with existing environmental obligations."

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