Heathrow expansion: UK will not need third runway for up to 15 years
The chief executive of Heathrow today said it could be 10 to 15 years before the UK need a third runway at the airport due to the coronavirus crisis.
Speaking to the transport select committee, John Holland-Kaye insisted that a third runway at the airport remained “a critical economic plank for the growth of the country”.
When asked if the coronavirus crisis had blown a “massive hole” in the business case for a third runway at Heathrow, Holland-Kaye insisted the country would still need it:
“In 10 to 15 years, if we are successful in rebooting the UK economy and getting back to full swing, then I think we will still need a third runway at that point”.
However, he warned that progress on the development would depend on “how things turn out over the next few years”.
Holland-Kaye clarified that the airport was still pursuing its appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision in February to rule the business case for the expansion “unlawful”.
According to the judgement, the government’s policy statement on the project did not take into account its commitment to the Paris climate accords.
Last week the airport said that all expansion plans would be pushed back by two years at least due to the coronavirus disruption.
Holland-Kaye revealed that the airport was burning through cash at a rate of £200m a month, and has the liquidity to survive for up to a year.
According to Eurocontrol, there were only 187 flights from the airport yesterday, down from 1338 on the same day in 2019.
Along with other representative of the UK’s airports, Holland-Kaye said that the government needed to do more to help airlines and airports begin flying again, warning that the recovery of the UK economy depended on it:
“If you want to get the UK economy started again, you have to get the aviation sector started again”.