What are the benefits of the Heathrow 3rd runway?

A new Northwest Runway at Heathrow would deliver reduced fares, fewer delays, greater resilience and more daily destinations, relative to no expansion. The Airports Commission found that the costs of construction would be unlikely to increase passenger air fares.



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After decades of prevarication by both Conservative and Labour governments, in 2015 a definitive airports commission, set up to investigate the issue, came down firmly in favor of creating a third runway northwest of the existing two east-west aligned landing strips.

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Heathrow has argued it needs higher fees to provide a good service, pay its shareholders returns and fund investment such as new security scanners which mean liquids can stay in bags and a modern baggage system for one of its terminals.

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In fact, Heathrow started to go in another direction, dropping most of its runways. It has had only two runways since the 1970s as the shorter strips couldn't keep up with the requirements of modern aircraft such as the new jets that were arriving on the scene.

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You might be thinking that the numbers on this diagram are backwards. On a handheld compass, south is 180 degrees (so 18 in runway terms) and west is 270 (27). But the “W” is numbered 9 because the runway number is connected to the direction the plane is traveling.

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Most construction will be within the airport perimeter, bar stretches of additional local road lanes and flyovers, and Gatwick has said it hopes work will start in 2025 for the runway to be in use by 2030.

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While Heathrow Airport undoubtedly has much more variety with more long-range international carriers, London Gatwick has a wider variety of types of operations. Heathrow lacks the low-cost element of Gatwick Airport. London Gatwick is a hub of low-cost operations, which London Heathrow is not.

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The average maximum per-passenger fee will drop from £31.57 this year to £25.43 in 2024, and should stay flat until at least 2026. Heathrow was campaigning to have the landing fee, which is paid by passengers as part of the cost of their ticket, as high as £40. The fee covers things like security and handling luggage.

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Heathrow's status as a world-class airport is down to the quality and the expertise of our colleagues and it's great to see the team's efforts to make this one of the best airports in the world recognised.

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As with other airports worldwide, Heathrow has been experiencing chaos due to staff shortages amid a summer rush as Covid-19 bans are being lifted.

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Heathrow is carrying £15.8 billion of net debt, marginally higher than a year ago and that of £14.1 billion four years ago.

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Plane struggles to land at London's Heathrow Airport Plane enthusiasts have caught on video the moment an A350 Cathay Pacific jet from Hong Kong to Heathrow struggled to land at the London airport at the weekend.

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