PRESS: Heathrow airport's third runway delayed by four years to 2039
(Alliance News) - Heathrow airport's third runway will be delayed by four years to 2039, The Times reported Saturday.
Airport chiefs are understood to have told ministers that it is impossible to stick to the 2035 deadline for the GBP49 billion infrastructure project, The Times said.
The UK government this weekend said that the timeline has always been ambitious.
Heathrow, the UK's busiest airport located in west London, is focusing on securing planning permission by 2029, with the third runway expected to open within a decade of attaining permission.
Last week, advisers warned that the expansion of Heathrow airport cannot go ahead unless the aviation industry is forced to clean up its climate emissions.
The cost of international flights might have to increase by hundreds of pounds by 2050, to pay for measures that will help the airline sector cut its carbon pollution to zero overall, known as net zero, the Climate Change Committee said.
Earlier in September, UK Chancellor John Healey said the government had "given the go-ahead" to the proposal to build a third runway at Heathrow airport, which will cost an estimated GBP33 billion, including GBP1.5 billion to move the M25, and increase the site's capacity to 756,000 flights and 150 million passengers.
The airport currently handles around 84 million to 85 million passengers per year, operating at around 98% capacity.
But UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has previously expressed concerns over the expansion, and it has long been opposed by climate experts and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.
By Tom Budszus, Alliance News slot editor
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