There will be when a third runway gets built, non?
And those fees are based on the fixed asset register of Heathrow. The capital costs of the expansion will, of course, be added in full to that register and the fees will rise accordingly.
Yes In Someone Else's Back Yard. Always the way with these people.
I thought that’s how business works. At an optimum time before demand exceeds supply, you expand. For a time after that expansion takes place you may have excess capacity, until demand catches up again. And so the cycle continues while ever there is growth in the market. There is absolutely no evidence that any additional capacity created at Heathrow will not be used in the fullness of time; if there was, the owners wouldn’t increase capacity as much as they aim to do.
It needs one about as much as Heathrow needs a third runway.
Leeds is not runway slot constrained, but there will be a need for more terminal capacity in the region in the not too distant future. The imperative to expand Leeds [compared to Heathrow] is diminished because there’s another airport with a nice long runway not too far away, and it is currently completely unused at the moment but could be reactivated quickly - and the local council wants it to be. Leeds doesn’t rely on connecting traffic - its a point-to-point airport. Thus it is more viable to deliver additional capacity from a runway and terminal a few miles to the southeast, than it would be if Leeds was a hub.
As I said, you could build 2 tolled road tunnels towards the M25 and to Sheppey if you wanted from the Foulness site. Yes, it would subsequently be expensive to travel by road to them, but I'm content with that option.
Foulness would be nearly entirely on government land and close to the sea. You'd also be able to close Southend Airport and perhaps London City (with an express rail link from the City and the Docklands), so you'd be able to reduce a lot of air movements over densely populated areas. Expropriating a load of land in rural Bucks (an area of the country with a huge concentration of NIMBYs) is just not realistic at all.
Here's an interesting idea - if Heathrow funded part of the HS4Air high speed railway to Gatwick instead, could you offer many more transfer tickets using some of the new 2nd runway capacity at Gatwick for the second leg instead?
The speech did include a proposal to reopen Doncaster/Sheffield airport.
I'm not aware of any firm proposals to expand Leeds Bradford over and above the work which is already happening and will be complete by the summer, or any announcment that the Chancellor opposes this expansion.
People can relocate. There's no point expanding an airport that is not fit for purpose as it is, let alone adding another runway.
Ministers are not allowed to make decisions on projects/plans that directly impact their own constituency. If there was a plan to work on that airport, someone else would have to sign it off or block it. Yes another Minister could easily be in cahoots with them, but if that were the case I'd think this would have been plastered all over the news by now.
Her and the prime minister are fighting for their lives, they aren't necessarily doing the things they want to at this point.
The government has a large majority in parliament and the next general election is anything up to 4½ years away.
Indeed. It is fascinating to hear so many Northern accents pooh-pooh concerns about London while blocking any such developments in their own back yards. One word - HYPOCRITES - applies.
Liz Truss had over two years and a decent majority - how long did she last?
Liz Truss had over two years and a decent majority - how long did she last?
That's the Transport Committee chaired by Ruth Cadbury, MP for Brentford and Isleworth.
Starmer and Reeves have already lasted much longer than any lettuce.
Given that Sadiq Khan is adamantly opposed there must be a prospect of him litigating.... That would be entertaining.
Thanks for clarifying.
Yes quite likely, although if Chinese got build contract, would probably be built within 2 years. Heavy machinery will have started before a planning officer had time to said maybe, but need x, y, and mitigation z
It's up to the government to cut red tape and deregulate. Big infrastructure for the national interest should not be subject to local opposition.
Modular Methods of Construction are quicker and of higher quality than the 'traditional' built by cowboys. They need not look like boxes or barrack blocks. Mass customisation is possible- like 'extras' on a car.
I also heard an interview with Willie Walsh on the radio. He was surprisingly lukewarm about expanding Heathrow and much more enthusiastic about expanding Gatwick, manly because of greater speed and greater certainty.
2040 appears to be the expected date when the third runway at Heathrow Airport would be completed and opened if it can be funded and built. This is the view from China.
British government backs Heathrow Airport expansion plan
British government backs Heathrow Airport expansion plan
www.chinadaily.com.cn
Xinhua | Updated: 2025-01-30 00:43
This is the view from Ryanair.
Ryanair boss describes the Chancellor’s Heathrow expansion as a ‘dead cat’ and she ‘hasn’t a clue’ - London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com
Michael O'Leary slams Chancellor's lack of knowledge about aviation growth and dismisses her Heathrow expansion plan as a 'dead cat'.londonlovesbusiness.com
Gatwick is simply much easier to expand, although question marks around whether the Brighton mainline could handle the extra capacity?I now have a link to the full transcript of the speech, which is here:
Chancellor vows to go further and faster to kickstart economic growth
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves spoke at Siemens Healthineers in Oxfordshire on 29 January 2025.www.gov.uk
The statistics about Heathrow quoted by the Chancellor are here:
I also heard an interview with Willie Walsh on the radio. He was surprisingly lukewarm about expanding Heathrow and much more enthusiastic about expanding Gatwick, manly because of greater speed and greater certainty.