Heathrow Expansion

The plan incorporates a number of revisions following consultation with stakeholders at various stages throughout the Airports Commission process. Issues raised by communities at local, regional, and national levels have been addressed and the plan is better for it as a result. The number of properties requiring compulsory purchase has reduced by 200, while the revised scheme also avoids the need to redevelop the M4/M25 junction.

It also sees the provision of new green spaces and flood mitigation for local communities. Key aspects of our long term plan:

Two main passenger terminals and transport hubs – Heathrow West (Terminals 5 and 6) and Heathrow East (an extended Terminal 2) – connected by an underground passenger transit and baggage system. Minimum connection times between terminals to fall from 75 to 60 minutes. We want to overhaul our cargo facilities and double their capacity.

Land will be set aside for commercial developments such as offices and hotels. It will provide more than enough space to replace commercial premises lost to the third runway.

A three-runway Heathrow will provide up to 740,000 flights a year. That’s enough for Heathrow to compete on an equal footing with Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam. It also provides sufficient hub-airport capacity until at least 2040.

Heathrow’s rail capacity will treble from 18 to 40 trains (equivalent to 5,000 to 15,000 seats) an hour. With improvements to bus and coach services, 30 million more people will travel to Heathrow by public transport in 2030.

For the more information on the proposal, please download the summary document or full report here.