Passenger figures blow to Heathrow runway plan

PLANS to deliver a third runway at Heathrow were dealt a blow last night as the Government admitted Gatwick will deliver a bigger economic benefit – but not until 2070.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling insisted the case for expanding Heathrow was ‘as strong as ever’.

But the Department for Transport (DfT) ripped up key assumptions made by the independent Airports Commission when it backed Heathrow in 2015.

Alongside a series of reports on the impact of expanding the west London airport, it was forced to reopen public consultation in light of the new evidence. Crucially, it said the Airports Commis- sion had underestimated how many passengers would be able to fly through Britain’s airports – particularly Gatwick.

In its final report backing Heathrow expansion, the commission said Gatwick would not handle 46million passengers a year until 2040. But the Sussex airport has already almost hit this target.

Ministers have said Heathrow will deliver a bigger economic boost because it offers more long-haul routes and flies more freight than all other British airports combined. But yesterday it admitted Gatwick will deliver a bigger economic benefit from 2070 as it will be able to fly more passengers with a second runway than anticipated.

The DfT insisted it’s ‘on track’ to publish final proposals next year.

Yesterday, Jane Gratton, head of business environment at the British Chambers of Commerce said: ‘Businesses need Heathrow’s third runway to be delivered as swiftly and smoothly as possible.’