Heathrow boss presses Burnham to back a third runway, which still awaits a final government decision

Summary

Heathrow's boss, Woldbye, urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to back a third runway by the end of the year, warning in the Financial Times that the airport would have to 'reassess' the £33bn project if the Prime Minister does not openly back the expansion plan, a call The Independent and the Evening Standard reported on Monday 12 October with passenger numbers down 2.3% year on year last month, at 7.2 million, as Middle East traffic plunged. The Independent reported that the airport cannot wait forever for the runway, estimated at £33 billion, including £1.5 billion to move the M25. On Wednesday 14 October, Thomas Woldbye told the Today programme that not building the third runway would be a 'huge missed opportunity' and that it would be 'good to know' the government's position, BBC News reported, and called for Burnham to get behind the scheme, warning that investment could be lost overseas unless there is certainty over the expansion plan, the Evening Standard and The Independent reported. Heidi Alexander told business leaders at the AirportsUK conference that the runway could grow 'every corner' of the UK but that the Government still needed to make a final decision, MPs were warned of a 'ghost town' threat to Heathrow if the runway proves too costly, a rival consortium calling the expansion plans unaffordable, according to the Evening Standard, and the boss of Istanbul airport, Selahattin Bilgen, said abandoning the runway would be bad for the UK, City A.M. reported.

Latest: Heathrow's boss Thomas Woldbye called for Andy Burnham to get behind the third runway, warning that investment could be lost overseas without certainty, while Heidi Alexander said the runway could grow 'every corner' of the UK but that the Government still needed to make a final decision, the Evening Standard and The Independent reported.

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