Only extending the existing runway at Heathrow will protect airline passengers from substantially higher fares

A spokesman for Heathrow Hub, the independent proposal to expand Heathrow by extending the northern runway, said:

“Willie Walsh is right to say the interests of passengers must be protected. Until now, the Department for Transport has paid no regard to passengers’ interests, yet it is ultimately they who will pay for the 3rd Runway. Our proposal is much cheaper, simpler and quicker and both Heathrow itself and Chris Grayling, the Secretary of State for Transport, should admit they have made a mistake and adopt it instead.”

On Wednesday this week Heathrow is expected to release a revised scheme with a cut-price terminal as part of a plan to reduce costs. Yet the real reason the 3rd Runway is so expensive is that it is on the wrong place, on the site of three villages which have to be demolished, plus BA’s headquarters, the Home Office’s Immigration facilities and the Energy from Waste Plant.

Heathrow Hub’s proposal to extend the Northern Runway has been independently costed at £3.9bn for its first phase, or £9.7bn for the full scheme. It can be funded by keeping existing passenger fees flat. IAG has previously said that Heathrow Airport’s own 3rd Runway, costing at least £14bn, will cost an equivalent of an additional £80 in fees for each passenger.