Heathrow unveils £49-billion expansion plan for 3rd runway

LONDON: London's Heathrow Airport on Friday unveiled a £49-billion ($65 billion) expansion plan, including the costs of building a long-awaited third runway, approved by the UK government after years of legal wrangling.

The runway would cost £21 billion, with flights expected to take off within a decade, while the rest of the privately-funded investment will go toward expanding and modernising the airport.

Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport by passenger numbers, said the expansion would provide at least 30 new daily routes, more domestic connections and improved flight times. The increased capacity would almost double the number of annual passengers from 84 million currently to up to 150 million passengers annually.

"It has never been more important or urgent to expand Heathrow," said CEO Woldbye. "We are effectively operating at capacity to the detriment of trade and connectivity," he added.

Despite fierce opposition from environmentalists and local residents, London mayor Sadiq Khan and some Labour MPs, the Labour government backed the new runway in January in a bid to boost UK economic growth.