Economics
Heathrow Runway Approved as Funding, Planning Hurdles Remain
- Third runway wins government backing after years of delays
- Johnson, Goldsmith reiterate opposition as Conservatives split
U.K. Approves Heathrow Airport Runway Expansion
Photographer: Matthew Lloyd/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Prime Minister Theresa May’s government gave the green light to an expansion of London’s Heathrow airport, leaving open questions about how it would be funded and how long it will take to get built.
The announcement Tuesday endorsed the conclusions last year of a state-sponsored commission that said Heathrow, and not its rival Gatwick, is the best candidate for growth amid a crunch in U.K. flight capacity. The 16 billion-pound ($20 billion) construction of a third landing strip at Heathrow -- the first full-length runway in southeast England since World War II -- will allow the 70-year-old airport to handle 135 million passengers a year.