UK: Heathrow plans to increase third runway costs before approval

Heathrow airport is planning to triple the amount it spends on its controversial third runway to GBP2.9b ahead of final approval, sparking fears that passengers will pay extra even if the project is eventually cancelled. The industry regulator said it wanted to seek the public’s views on the airport’s proposal to accelerate spending because of the risk that the costs would be passed on to consumers through passenger service charges. The Civil Aviation Authority said in a consultation document that management at the UK’s busiest airport was speeding up certain spending on the GBP14b project to meet the 2026 completion target date for the runway. However, it is still uncertain whether the expansion will go ahead, following opposition from politicians, local residents and environmentalists. Heathrow is expected to submit its application for a development consent order, the permit required by all nationally significant infrastructure projects, next year. The airport hopes the transport secretary will approve it in 2021. “In light of these increases, we have asked [Heathrow] to consider different options for this spending and the implications of this spending for the overall programme timetable and the interests of consumers,” the CAA said. “The more Heathrow’s operator spends before it gets planning approval, the greater the risk that consumers will end up paying for extra costs in the event that expansion does not go ahead.”<br/>