Stock Market News
Heathrow to reveal proposal for shortened third runway in cost cutting exercise
Heathrow was set to unveil its new proposal for a shorter and cheaper third runway in an effort to push through its £15bn expansion plans.
Heathrow airport, Europe's busiest travel hub, would propose a reduction of 300m in the length of the new north-western runway, a scheme signed off on by Downing Street, in an attempt to cut the project's costs.
While Number 10 had given Heathrow its support for the extension, the government also warned the airport that any developments to the ground should not result in higher charges for airlines, which could then be expected to pass the costs on to passengers.
The shorter runway would still necessitate the M25, Britain's busiest motorway, to be moved 150 metres to the west in a shallower tunnel under a slightly ramped runway.
Heathrow's proposals, including whether the shorter runway would lie to the western or eastern end of the proposed full-length 3.5km runway, was slated to be presented to the public in 40 events over a ten-week long consultation.
Emma Gilthorpe, Heathrow's executive director for expansion, said, "We need feedback to help deliver this opportunity responsibly and to create a long-term legacy both at a local and national level. Heathrow is consulting to ensure that we deliver benefits for our passengers, businesses across the country but also, importantly, for those neighbours closest to us."
Opponents of the expansion reacted with scepticism to news of the new proposal, saying any significant changes could result in significant legal action.
John Stewart, chair of the anti-Heathrow expansion group Hacan, said, "The Airport Commission calculations of economic benefits were on the basis of the capacity of a full-length runway. A shorter runway could open a can of worms, and invite a judicial review from Heathrow Hub or even Gatwick."
Virgin Atlantic chief executive Craig Kreeger suggested that "passenger cost guarantee" should be instituted to ensure airport charges did not rise from their current levels.
"Our passengers already pay the highest airport charges in the world - they should not be asked to pay even more to fund expansion," he said.
"To protect passengers, we're calling upon Heathrow to introduce a passenger cost guarantee, setting out the total budget for delivering the expansion programme, committing that passenger charges will not increase in real terms, and guaranteeing to cover the costs of any overspend," he added.
Heathrow airport, Europe's busiest travel hub, would propose a reduction of 300m in the length of the new north-western runway, a scheme signed off on by Downing Street, in an attempt to cut the project's costs.
While Number 10 had given Heathrow its support for the extension, the government also warned the airport that any developments to the ground should not result in higher charges for airlines, which could then be expected to pass the costs on to passengers.
The shorter runway would still necessitate the M25, Britain's busiest motorway, to be moved 150 metres to the west in a shallower tunnel under a slightly ramped runway.
Heathrow's proposals, including whether the shorter runway would lie to the western or eastern end of the proposed full-length 3.5km runway, was slated to be presented to the public in 40 events over a ten-week long consultation.
Emma Gilthorpe, Heathrow's executive director for expansion, said, "We need feedback to help deliver this opportunity responsibly and to create a long-term legacy both at a local and national level. Heathrow is consulting to ensure that we deliver benefits for our passengers, businesses across the country but also, importantly, for those neighbours closest to us."
Opponents of the expansion reacted with scepticism to news of the new proposal, saying any significant changes could result in significant legal action.
John Stewart, chair of the anti-Heathrow expansion group Hacan, said, "The Airport Commission calculations of economic benefits were on the basis of the capacity of a full-length runway. A shorter runway could open a can of worms, and invite a judicial review from Heathrow Hub or even Gatwick."
Virgin Atlantic chief executive Craig Kreeger suggested that "passenger cost guarantee" should be instituted to ensure airport charges did not rise from their current levels.
"Our passengers already pay the highest airport charges in the world - they should not be asked to pay even more to fund expansion," he said.
"To protect passengers, we're calling upon Heathrow to introduce a passenger cost guarantee, setting out the total budget for delivering the expansion programme, committing that passenger charges will not increase in real terms, and guaranteeing to cover the costs of any overspend," he added.
Related share prices |
---|
Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.uk
Get a free widget for your website with our latest headlines.
You can now add our live prices and new headlines to your website.The news widget features quotes for Oil prices, spot Gold price and Indices plus a choice of news channel for healines.
Top Shares pages
- Share price quotes
- Share charts
- Share watch list
- Company Results Calendar
- Top Large UK Shares
- UK Market Sectors
- Stock market news
- Company news
- Share tips
- A-Z company search
More share features
POPULAR Share Prices
- Royal Mail share price
- Lloyds share price
- HSBC share price
- Barclays share price
- Prudential share price
- Santander share price
- NEXT share price
- Diageo share price
- BP share price
- Vodafone share price
- British Airways
- Centrica share price
- Tesco share price
- Taylor Wimpey Share Price
- National Grid
- GKP Share Price
- Marks and Spencer
- Rolls Royce
- Rio Tinto
- THG Share Price
- Aviva Share Price
- Boil Share price
- Easyjet Share Price
- Genedrive Share Price
- SSE Share Price
- IAG Share Price
- Boohoo share price
- HE1 share price
- AVCT share price
- BOOM share price