- Heathrow’s chief executive warned its owners cannot wait forever for backing on the third runway
- Heathrow reported a 2.3pc drop in September passengers to 7,179,707
- Middle East passengers fell by 20.1pc due to the Iran war
- The scheme is estimated to cost £33bn including £1.5bn to move the M25
- Heathrow aims to get planning permission by 2029
Heathrow Airport’s chief executive has warned its owners cannot wait forever for the English Prime Minister’s backing for its third runway plans as he stated demand continues to outstrip capacity despite a fall in passenger numbers last month.
Chief executive Thomas Woldbye shared that the London airport’s backers could reassess their £33bn plans if Andy Burnham does not give his commitment to the runway project. The hub’s investors including the Qatar Investment Authority, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and China Investment Corp must decide in the new year whether to submit a formal planning application for the runway.
In its latest passenger traffic update, Heathrow reported a 2.3pc drop year-on-year in September to 7,179,707, driven by a 20.1pc plunge in those from the Middle East due to the Iran war. Passengers from England were also lower, down 4pc, with a 1.2pc fall for those from the European Union. Thomas Woldbye stated on reporting the figures that demand continues to outstrip capacity despite last month’s drop in passenger numbers and insisted the debate over its third runway has been settled in support of the expansion project. He is due to appear in front of the Westminster Transport Select Committee as it scrutinises the Heathrow expansion plans.
Estimated to cost £33bn, including £1.5bn to move the M25 to build the runway, the scheme is expected to be fully privately financed. It would see Heathrow’s capacity increase to 756,000 flights and 150m passengers per year. The airport aims to get planning permission by 2029, and from that point believes building the new runway within a decade to be a reasonable goal.
Thomas Woldbye shared “Our shareholders would like to do this. They do think that things are taking a long time, and so far they have decided to be OK with that. But of course we cannot wait forever. At some point in time we need a level of certainty. I think by the end of the year we’ll be looking and saying: ‘Let’s assess this, let’s take stock and see where we are.'”
Airport passenger numbers
Aberdeen – Abu Dhabi – Alicante – Amsterdam – Athens – Barcelona – Belfast City – Belfast International – Belfast combined – Bergamo – Berlin – Birmingham – Bristol – Brussels – Bucharest – Budapest – Cardiff – CDG Paris – Copenhagen – Cork – Derry – Doha – Donegal – Dubai – Dublin – Dusseldorf – East Midlands – Edinburgh – Frankfurt – Gatwick – Geneva – Glasgow – Gran Canaria – Helsinki – Heathrow – Istanbul – Kerry – Knock – Lanzarote – Leeds Bradford – Lisbon – Liverpool – London City – Luton – Madrid – Malaga – Manchester – Milan Bergamo – Milan Malpensa –Munich – Newcastle – Oslo Gardermoen – Palma de Mallorca – Paris CDG – Paris Orly – Porto – Prague – Prestwick – Rome Fiumicino – Seville – Shannon – Southampton – Stansted – Stockholm – Tenerife Sur – Valencia – Vienna – Warsaw – Zurich
