Heathrow will confirm on Wednesday that it will push ahead with plans for a third runway and new terminals.
Thomas Woldbye, the airport’s chief executive, will say that he is “ending years of doubt” for people living in the area.
It is the first time the airport has formally stated its intention to revive its expansion plans since Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, gave her backing in a speech last month.
The expansion has been on ice since 2020 when the pandemic sent passenger numbers plummeting. Reeves said she wants “diggers in the ground” by the end of the parliament and flights taking off by 2035.
The airport will submit its plans to ministers by the summer, with a formal planning application 18 to 24 months from now.
Flights are not expected to start taking off until the end of the next decade, although detailed plans are still being drawn up. There would be an average of hundreds more flights a day, with the annual flight cap lifted from 480,000 to 720,000.
• Could a third runway at Heathrow be cleared for take-off?
Woldbye will use a speech to industry leaders at British Steel’s plant in Scunthorpe to say: “This privately funded programme will upgrade existing infrastructure while laying the groundwork for a third runway, boosting UK investment and economic growth, with tangible benefits felt this year. Heathrow is proud to answer the chancellor’s call to get Britain building.”
The airport is promising to use British steel for the project in a boost to the ailing sector after President Trump’s tariffs announcement. Terminal 5, which opened in 2008, was built with 80,000 tonnes of steel.
As well as a new runway, there will be significant upgrades to infrastructure. Terminals 2 and 5 will be expanded to allow more passengers in the main buildings. Terminal 2 will also have new satellites for C and D gates. Terminal 5 will get a twin, Terminal 5X, and a new satellite, Terminal 5XN, which will be connected by a shuttle.
Woldbye will say: “A third runway is critical for the country’s future economic success, and I confirm we will submit our plans for a third runway to [the] government this summer.
“Ahead of then, as part of a phased expansion programme and supported by the government’s clear backing, I am today confirming multibillion-pound investment plans, 100 per cent privately funded, to upgrade our terminal buildings, enhance passenger experience, and improve resilience and sustainability.”
The announcement will reopen the bitter debate between noise and environmental campaigners who strongly oppose the project. A previous version of the scheme involved demolishing hundreds of homes in the villages of Harmondsworth and Longford, and burying the M25 London orbital motorway in a tunnel.
• The ancient village standing in the way of Heathrow’s third runway
Bosses at Heathrow were surprised by the speed of the government’s change of tune. Even at the end of last year they did not know that Reeves would give the third runway her backing.
Gareth Stace, the director general of UK Steel, a trade group, said: “Heathrow signing the UK steel charter is a major vote of confidence in UK steelmaking and British businesses full stop. With the airport embarking on its largest ever private investment programme, this commitment unlocks significant opportunities for UK steel producers and supply chains to help deliver critical national infrastructure.”
Heathrow recorded the busiest January in its history with more than 6.3 million passengers travelling through its four terminals last month, 5 per cent more than the same month last year. The airport said that transatlantic travel was a “key contributor” to the increase, with 1.2 million passengers bound for the US, up 8 per cent from a year earlier.
