Airports across London are proposing significant expansion and redevelopment plans that could add “another Heathrow” to the British capital
Five of the capital’s six airports are considering proposals to massively increase their ability to handle flights and passengers, including new runways at Gatwick and Heathrow and a new terminal at Luton.
Earlier this year London City airport’s application to expand was given the go-ahead. The airport submitted a proposal to increase capacity from 6.5 million to 9 million passengers a year by putting on more weekend and early morning flights.
In 2026, on the other hand, Stansted Airport will begin construction work for an expansion of its facilities. The airport currently sees around 28 million passengers per year, but with the expansion, it is hoping to increase that to around 43M.
The biggest and most controversial scheme of all is the £14 billion third runway proposal for Heathrow which could be set to see the light of the day after more than two decades of public debate.
The additional runway would boost the airport’s capacity by 260,000 flights per year, addressing business demand and positioning Heathrow – which currently has a capacity of 90 million passengers per year – as Europe’s leading hub for tourism and trade.
David Cameron was firmly against the expansion ahead of the 2010 election. At the time, he vowed to oppose it with “no ifs, no buts”.
Boris Johnson is now warning that Sir Keir Starmer could try to press ahead with plans for a third runway at Heathrow.
If all of these ambitious plans get the green light, London could see an extra 83.5 million passengers a year by the mid-2040s.
London’s six airports handled 168 million passengers in 2023.
Downing Street has said that it is not opposed to new runways or terminals in principle so long as plans meet four tests: on economic growth, consistency with climate change obligations, noise pollution and air pollution.