John Healey supports Heathrow's third runway for economic growth

Chancellor John Healey said on Thursday that a third runway at Heathrow Airport is “always been a case for growth”, after Prime Minister Andy Burnham refused to say whether he supports the expansion. Healey made the comment at the International Monetary Fund meeting in Bangkok, adding that the airport’s expansion has been a key part of jobs and growth in recent decades. The formal position now is that the consultation is closed and the Transport Department is reviewing the submissions before making further decisions.

The debate has raged for years. Rachel Reeves, Healey’s predecessor, put the airport’s expansion at the centre of Britain’s “open for business” pitch, calling a third runway “badly needed” and saying the government could not “duck the decision any longer”. In September, Burnham told the BBC that the decision was a matter for London and its residents, saying he would not jump in before hearing their voices. The project faces opposition from residents, politicians and climate campaigners, and would cost an estimated £33 billion, demolish hundreds of homes, divert rivers and reroute the M25 motorway.

Heathrow currently serves over 80 million travellers a year with two runways and a cap of 480,000 flights. A third runway could raise that to 720,000 flights, or nearly 2,000 a day, and would benefit the national supply chain from north to south. Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye warned that not building the runway would be a “huge missed opportunity” and urged the government to give its backing before the end of the year. The Department for Transport says it is “considering the appropriate next steps” after the public consultation on its National Policy Statement, and the new runway is scheduled to open by 2035 if plans are approved.