Heathrow third runway opening could slip to 2039

Heathrow has warned that planning and regulatory issues could delay its proposed third runway by four years, the BBC reported on Saturday. The airport hopes to secure planning permission by 2029 and says opening the runway within a decade of approval is its core scenario. That could mean an opening in 2039, rather than the 2035 date the government had hoped for. The BBC puts the project’s estimated cost at £49bn. [1]

The Department for Transport said there is no live planning application and called the timetable ambitious. Heathrow approved investment in January to begin preparing an application, but said the project would proceed only once the necessary regulatory and policy frameworks were in place. Its January statement described a government timetable for planning permission by 2029 and a third runway operating in a decade. [1] [2]