Heathrow may add 25,000 flights a year before third runway

An extra 25,000 flights a year could come through Heathrow before the third runway is built, in plans revealed by the airport as it launched a fresh consultation over its airspace and operations. Planes could come in to land on both runways at the same time during busy periods, Heathrow has proposed, to help maximise its capacity ahead of expansion. The plans, requiring planning approval but tacitly backed through government support for increased aircraft capacity, would involve lifting the current cap to more than 500,000 flights a year. New areas of London would be brought under Heathrow flight paths for the first time. The airport will also start to sketch out where planes will fill the skies after the third runway opens, potentially as early as 2026. In a separate consultation last year, most respondents rejected the idea of concentrating more planes over the same area and asked the airport to vary flight paths, which is likely to affect thousands more homes. However, more distant areas under flight paths, such as parts of south-east London, could get some respite.<br/>