The Guardian
Gwyn Topham
25 Nov 2025
Ministers have backed a plan for a third runway at Heathrow to be in operation by 2035 as they opted for the longer, costlier runway drawn up by the airport’s owners as the basis for its expansion.
The £33bn scheme for a 2.2-mile (3.5km) north-western runway crossing the M25 motorway was picked in preference as the “most credible and deliverable option”, ahead of a rival plan submitted by the Arora Group.
The transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, said the choice would enable swift progress to full planning permission by 2029, providing the runway met the government’s “four tests”, including environmental, economic, noise and air quality considerations.
Alexander said the government would now review the airports national policy statement, needed for the runway to progress, with a full public consultation by July next year.
