Government has ‘given the go-ahead’ to Heathrow expansion, says ChancellorPrime Minister Andy Burnham has previously expressed concerns over the plans to build a third runway at the west London airport.Climate groups and the mayor of London have criticised the plans to expand Heathrow (Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA)PA ArchiveRosie Shead5 minutes ago
The Government has “given the go-ahead” to a proposal to build a third runway at Heathrow Airport, the Chancellor has said.
The plans to expand the UK’s largest airport, which the Government previously described as “critical to national growth”, have long been opposed by climate experts and Mayor of London Lord Sadiq Khan.
At Treasury Questions in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Chancellor John Healey was challenged on the plans by Liberal Democrat business spokeswoman Sarah Olney, who asked if he would “put an end to this absurd proposal”.
The expansion would see passenger numbers grow to 150 million per year (Jonathan Brady/PA)PA Archive
She said: “The former chancellor invested a significant amount of political capital into driving forward the white elephant project of building a third runway at Heathrow on the basis it would deliver economic growth.
“But the Government’s own appraisal report states that the net present value of expansion raises between minus £23.4 billion to minus £62.5 billion.
“So will this Chancellor put an end to this absurd proposal?”
Mr Healey replied: “Quite simply, after years of delay, years of indecision, years of often vexatious challenge, we have given the go-ahead to this project quite simply because the economic case stacks up and will help bring growth.”
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has previously expressed concerns over the expansion, stating the plans divert infrastructure investment “away from the North and traps it in London”.
According to a report released last week, building a third runway at the airport would “overshoot” the UK’s legally binding climate targets.
New modelling published by the University of Manchester’s Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research – commissioned by environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth – said the UK aviation industry is already forecast to exceed legally binding limits in the seventh carbon budget, part of the national plan to reach net zero by 2050.
That is before a third runway is built and in the wake of recent approved expansions at Gatwick, Stansted and Luton, the report said.
A Friends of the Earth senior figure described the Heathrow expansion plans as “the climate equivalent of pouring petrol on a raging wildfire” after summer 2026 was provisionally confirmed as the hottest on record in the UK, with widespread drought and wildfires across the country.
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In a post on social media, Lord Khan said last week he was “deeply concerned” about the potential adverse impacts of the Heathrow plans, citing possible effects to air quality, noise pollution, the environment and other transport networks.
He added: “The truth is the whole case for Heathrow expansion relies on outdated evidence that fails to consider the urgent challenges we face today.
“I will continue to vehemently oppose these plans as I seek to build a fairer, safer, greener, more prosperous London for everyone.”
The west London airport has previously argued that “the case for expansion has never been clearer” after Istanbul surpassed Heathrow as Europe’s busiest airport in July.
Istanbul airport will open a fourth runway later this year.
Heathrow said the expansion plans “will ensure the country gets the infrastructure it needs to stay competitive and will deliver all-important economic growth”.
Estimated to cost £33 billion, including £1.5 billion to move the M25 to build the runway, the scheme is expected to be fully privately financed.
It would see Heathrow’s capacity increase to 756,000 flights and 150 million passengers per year.
Chancellor John Healey said the expansion of the airport will ‘help bring growth’ (Betty Laura Zapata/PA)PA Wire
Annual figures from trade body Airports Council International show Heathrow was Europe’s busiest airport from 1996 to 2019.
It lost that position in 2020 amid coronavirus travel restrictions before regaining it in 2023 and holding the title since then.
In 2025, the airport recorded 84.46 million passengers.
A public consultation on the Government’s Heathrow expansion national policy statement closed on September 1.
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