New Civil Engineer - Catherine Kennedy
The pandemic-driven reduction in air travel may mean the proposed third runway at Heathrow is no longer needed, according to the head of a government review into airport expansion.
Sir Howard Davies – who recommended the £14bn expansion as part of the Airports Commission report published six years ago – has now emphasised the changing landscape for the sector.
He told LBC Radio that a new runway was not needed “at the moment, quite clearly”.
“Heathrow would be delighted to fill the two runways it’s got just at the moment and it’s nowhere near it,” he added.
When asked if he was still in favour of the project, NatWest Group chair Davies said he “would have to redo the numbers to see if the economics made sense".
