The Guardian
· collected 2026-09-27 · by Sarah Butler and Alexandra Topping
Plans for a third runway at Heathrow are once again up in the air after the prime minister refused to say whether he backs the “contested” project which is delayed by up to four years.
asserted
which → refuse → years
Over the weekend it emerged that Heathrow no longer expects to meet the original 2035 deadline.
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Heathrow → emerge → deadline
Instead, the airport hopes to secure planning permission by 2029 and then open the runway “within a decade”, meaning it would not be operational until 2039.
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it → hop → 2039
The delay comes amid signs of lukewarm support for the project from Andy Burnham who dodged questions about the issue on Sunday.
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who → come → Sunday
Asked at the Labour party conference in Liverpool if he was in favour of building a third runway at the airport, Burnham said the issue was “contested” and “principally it’s a matter for London and London MPs”.
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it → ask → London
Burnham, who has previously criticised the expansion, said he did not want to “jump straight in” before considering the results of a public consultation which ran over the summer.
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which → criticise → summer
“There are different views and you have to take those views seriously in coming to a decision.”
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you → be → decision
Heathrow is seeking to build a £33bn runway, enabling it to operate up to 756,000 flights a year.
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Heathrow → seek → flights
At present, the number is capped at 480,000.
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number → cap → 480,000
Making way for the runway involves demolishing hundreds of homes, diverting rivers and rerouting a section of the M25 motorway through a tunnel.
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Making → make → tunnel
However, it is estimated it would create 100,000 jobs and provide a huge boost to the UK economy.
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it → estimate → economy
Tony Bosworth, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said “putting the start date back four years makes the already dubious economic case for expansion even more questionable.
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case → say → expansion
That’s before even considering the fact that anything we might gain from expansion is vastly outweighed by the huge social and environmental cost.
uncertain
we → ’ → cost
Robert Barnstone, coordinator of the No 3rd Runway Coalition said it was right to say that the future of the project should be decided in London.
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future → say → London
“It is ultimately vast swathes of Londoners that would have to put up with Heathrow expansion through more noise overhead for communities right across London as well as poorer air pollution.
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that → have → London
However, the leaders of the Unite and GMB unions spoke out in support of the third runway.
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leaders → speak → runway
The GMB urged the government to clear planning bottlenecks to support an expected 108,000 jobs linked to the plans.
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GMB → urge → plans
Warren Kenny, GMB London Regional Secretary said: “Every year of dithering is a year of apprenticeships not started, contracts not signed and wages not paid.”
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year → say → apprenticeships
“Opponents of this runway will try to dress up a timetable as a verdict.
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Opponents → try → verdict
A project taking longer to build is not a reason not to build it.
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project → take → it
It’s a reason to start now.
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It → ’ → ?
Politicians can fix that.”
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Politicians → fix → that
Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite the Union, agreed the project was important for “securing the future of good, unionised jobs and a guaranteed market for UK steel.”
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project → agree → steel
Heathrow has said its existing runways have been full for over two decades, putting limits on its growth and the wider UK economy.
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runways → say → growth
It claims the project would unlock capacity for 40 airlines who want to operate new or more services.
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who → claim → services
A spokesperson for Heathrow said: “It’s right that ambitious targets were set, the sooner expansion begins the sooner the whole UK will benefit.
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UK → say → Heathrow
Our focus has always been to secure planning permission by 2029.
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focus → secure → 2029
Once achieved, the runway will be open within a decade – and the benefits of expansion can be felt from today.
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benefits → achieve → today
“This is a national project, 100% privately financed which will support growth today and secure the UK’s position in the global economy once the runway opens.”
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runway → finance → economy
However, a paper published by the Department for Transport this summer showed that airports elsewhere in England and Wales are likely to lose millions of passengers if Heathrow builds a third runway, in a significant blow to regional jobs.
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Heathrow → publish → jobs
Further analysis for the government also found that the overall economic boost could be a fraction of what ministers had hoped, while expanding the airport could have a “major adverse” effect on local health”.
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expanding → find → health
A department spokesperson said: “There is currently no live planning application for a third runway, and we cannot comment on ongoing consultation processes or prejudice them in a way that will only delay progress.
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that → say → progress
We’ll continue to work with promoters, including Heathrow, and all other stakeholders at pace to ensure the right framework is in place for which a planning application for a third runway could be considered.”
uncertain
application → continue → runway
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