UK: Heathrow third runway close to getting govt green light

Heathrow is edging closer to securing govt approval for a third runway after the airport indicated that a last-minute Whitehall study into concerns over pollution will give the all-clear. The airport’s CE, John Holland-Kaye, said he had “no reason to believe” that any issues had been raised in research conducted this year by the Department for Transport into air quality around Heathrow, despite consistent breaches of legal limits. He said: “Everything we have seen suggests that it won’t be an issue. I suspect if it were we would know about that by now.” The comments came as it emerged that a cabinet subcommittee on Heathrow will not make a final decision Tuesday, as previously thought, but Oct 25. The Heathrow boss also claimed that approving a third runway was no longer the difficult political choice for the prime minister. <br/>