Heathrow Airport's third runway may be delayed to 2039
The UK's busiest airport says the original goal of 2035 will be difficult to meet without simplifying the planning process.
Heathrow Airport’s planned third runway could now be pushed back to 2039
The UK’s busiest airport, Heathrow handles 80 million travellers a year through its two runways and four passenger terminals in west London.
Heathrow Airport has said its proposed third runway may be delayed by four years because of planning and regulatory hurdles.
The government had wanted the new runway at the UK’s busiest airport, which is estimated to cost £49bn, to be operational by 2035.
But Heathrow says that deadline is becoming harder to meet unless more is done to simplify the planning process. On Saturday, it said it hoped to obtain planning permission by 2029 and then open the runway “within a decade”.
The Department for Transport (DfT) said the project’s timetable had “always been ambitious” and that it would keep working with stakeholders “at pace” on the issue.
The airport said its “core scenario” had always been to open a new runway within a decade of winning planning permission.
It said it welcomed the chancellor’s efforts to streamline infrastructure and remove policy and regulatory bottlenecks, and pledged to keep working with ministers, airlines and stakeholders to “progress the planning application with pace”.
Former chancellor Rachel Reeves announced government backing for the project in January 2025, and Prime Minister Andy Burnham - who had previously been critical - said he was “open-minded” about the scheme when he took office.
Although the plan has faced broad opposition from environmental campaigners and local resident groups in nearby areas, it is expected to generate around 100,000 jobs and deliver a major economic boost.
The expansion would involve demolishing hundreds of homes, diverting rivers, and rerouting the M25 motorway between junctions 14 and 15 through a tunnel beneath the new runway.
Flights from the airport, which are currently capped at 480,000 a year, could rise to 720,000 - or almost 2,000 a day on average.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has consistently opposed the project, warning about the effects on noise, air pollution and climate change.
A consultation on the expansion was released in June this year. Once it is finalised, it must then go to a parliamentary vote, which could reportedly be delayed until 2027.
A DfT spokesperson said: “There is currently no live planning application for a third runway, and we cannot comment on ongoing consultation processes or prejudice them in a way that will only delay progress.
“The timeline has always been ambitious. We’ll continue to work with promoters, including Heathrow, and all other stakeholders at pace to ensure the right framework is in place for which a planning application for a third runway could be considered.”
A Heathrow spokesperson said: “It’s right that ambitious targets were set; the sooner expansion begins, the sooner the whole UK will benefit.”
They said the benefits would include “at least 108,000 new jobs and billions of pounds invested in supply chains in every part of the country”.
“This is a national project, 100% privately financed which will support growth today and secure the UK’s position in the global economy once the runway opens.”
Heathrow is the UK’s busiest airport, serving more than 80 million travellers a year with its four passenger terminals and two runways.