Heathrow has unveiled new investment in its existing terminals ahead of the push for a third runway.
Heathrow boss Thomas Woldbye has confirmed a multibillion-pound boost into the UK’s busiest airport – just hours after airlines criticised Heathrow for ‘failing’ passengers and operators due to declining quality.
Mr Woldbye, the chief executive of Heathrow, confirmed the investment to fund upgrades and parts of the controversial expansion in a speech at British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant today.
The money will be used to increase the capacity of Terminals 2 and changes to the airfield, including more aircraft stands.
Full list of Heathrow Airport upgrades
The upgrade will be funded entirely by private investment, Mr Woldbye said.
The investment programme will ‘upgrade existing infrastructure while laying the groundwork for a third runway, boosting UK investment and economic growth, with tangible benefits felt this year,’ he said.
List of upgrades coming up at Heathrow Airport
Here is a full list of the new upgrades which have been revealed so far. More details and the exact amount of the new investment will be revealed in due course, Heathrow told Metro.
Terminal 2 and 5 upgrade
Heathrow said it will work with airlines and the Civil Aviation Authority to invest in Terminal 2 capacity and make changes to ‘optimise and increase’ passenger capacity in Terminal 5.
Airfield layout reconfiguration
The layout of the airfield will be reconfigured and improved, Heathrow said.
This means more aircraft stands which will help to ‘improve resilience and punctuality.’
More bus and coach connections
The money will also pay for improvements to bus and coach connections to ‘encourage sustainable and active travel options and benefit our local communities,’ Heathrow said.
Sustainability
Heathrow said the new infrastructure will have ‘improved environmental credentials’ and it will use more sustainable sources of power to support Heathrow’s people and planet sustainability strategy.
The upgrades of existing terminal buildings will ‘enhance passenger experience, and improve resilience and sustainability.’
The latest multibillion-pound cash injection comes after Heathrow announced a £2.3 billion accelerated investment in December to upgrade the airport.
The announcement will be a win for the government as the investment project will use UK-made steel.
When Terminal 5 opened in 2008, it needed 80,000 tonnes of steel.
Heathrow signed today the UK Steel Charter at British Steel Scunthorpe which is designed to ‘maximise supply chain opportunities for UK steel producers,’ it said.
Sir Nick Dakin, the MP for Scunthorpe, said the Heathrow commitment is ‘a big vote of confidence in Scunthorpe steel,’ saying that pledges by British companies to forge partnerships benefit ‘working families up and down the country.’
Heathrow has yet to submit its final plan to the government for development consent for the third runway and a new terminal, but Chancellor Rachel Reeves gave the green light to the plans in January.
Mr Woldbye confirmed that Heathrow will submit the final plans for the third runway this summer.
He said that flights could be taking off ‘by 2035.’
Proposals show that the third runway would be built on top of most of Harmondsworth and Longford north of the existing runway.
The new runway would cross over the M25, with parts of the motorway redirected through a tunnel.
proposed Heathrow expansion (Picture: METRO)
With the third runway, Heathrow could see up to 140 million passengers a year.
Advocates of the third runway said it would grow the British GDP by 0.43% by 2050.
However, campaigners have criticised the expansion, with climate advocates calling it a ‘catastrophic misstep’ for the government that would not be in line with the net zero target.
Mr Woldbye insisted that the expansion will be carried out ‘responsibly’ because of ‘strict environmental safeguards.’
Justine Bayley, the chair of Stop Heathrow Expansion and a resident of Harmondsworth, told Metro previously that the Chancellor gave ‘fairly meaningless assurances that all environmental aspects will be met.’
Up to 700 homes, pubs and a school are at risk of being demolished to make way for the runway.
Residents have said they have been unable to sell their homes or get mortgages due to the expansion which has been looming in the pipeline since 2009. There are also concerns over increased noise and pollution if the third runway is built.
Ed Miliband, who spent years campaigning against the expansion, announced his backing last week – but refused to resign over the U-turn.
Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, told Metro that there is still ‘a long way to go until runway three happens.’
He said: ‘Those plans for a third new runway have got to address issues around noise, issues around air quality, issues around climate change obligations.
‘They’ve got to address the issues of who pays for the M25 to be tunnelled, for the A4 to be rerouted, for the Piccadilly line, Elizabeth line and Southern rail to be expanded. We’re talking about an airport now that’s one of the busiest in the world, so let’s see and wait what Heathrow comes up with.’
January was the busiest month ever for Heathrow, with more than 6.3 million passengers travelling through its terminals – up from 6 million last year.
This year, around 84.2 million passengers are set to travel through Heathrow.
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