London is one of the busiest cities in the world, with around 9 million permanent residents. It also has a prosperous economy, with GDP that leaves its GDP neglected in the top 30 countries around the world.
Busy cities need strong transport links, and London has many airports with millions of business passengers and tourists each year. The busiest of these is Heathrow, which last year handled more than 80 million passengers. However, the airport is currently operating at 98% capacity, so there is little room for handling delays or adding new routes.
Airlines trade valuable takeoff spots for millions of pounds, increasing operating costs and consumer prices. Heathrow faces a real prospect of overcrowding despite the fact that it has two runways, four terminals and 115 gates. However, currently, £15 billion plans have begun to expand the airport and increase the capacity of London's busiest transport hubs. The new MasterPlan has a considerable price tag, but we promise to deliver new terminals, new roads and taxis, but most importantly, the new runway. At the moment, Heathrow has two, the busiest dual runway airport in the world, and it's completely comparing it to other hubs with large capacity.
Chicago O'Hare International Airport has the most runways of eight civilian airports in the world, with seven at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
The third planned for Heathrow is 3.5km long and 60m wide, with a proposal northwest of the current site.
All construction will take place on new land, so existing buildings will be demolished, electrical cables will be placed underground, and the current land will be fully leveled.
There are also plans to divert the busy M25 highway around London into a tunnel under the runway to the north.
Some rivers and streams also need to be detoured to deal with new sites.
Instead of what's currently on the site, Heathrow has big plans to expand its capabilities.
The proposal details a new terminal called 5x connected to the west of the current fifth terminal.
Several new taxable routes will be built, similar to the direct route from the M25 to Heathrow's Cargo Hub.
Once everything goes into planning, passenger numbers could skyrocket to 130 million by the end of 2040, but many are concerned about the impact of development on the environment and surrounding areas.
The plan was found to be illegal by the 2020 Court of Appeals. This aims to increase global temperatures above 1.5c above pre-industrial levels, as the judge said it had not considered UK obligations under the Paris Climate Agreement.
However, the decision was overturned the following year by the country's Supreme Court.
There are also concerns about the loud noise pollution surrounding the plan, and critics argue that if they move on, some residents will forever lose current rest time from passing planes.
Heathrow has pledged to ban night flights between 11pm and 5:30am. This is an upgrade to the current voluntary arrangement to not schedule flights during these times.
But London Mayor Sadiq Khan told LBC that the number of people currently affected by Heathrow's noise pollution is greater than that affected by airports in Paris Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam, Munich, Frankfurt and Madrid.
Currently, Heathrow operates two runaways, alternating them between arrival and departure, giving residents surrounding the site a rest from the noise.
The third runway operates in “mixed mode” and operates both arrival and departure.
Under the new plan, each runway's functionality will be alternating over a four-day schedule.
After years of protests and delays, Prime Minister Rachel Reeves supported the plan, but it remains to be seen whether the project will actually be completed or started.
