Four out of five major London airports ‘will be full within a decade’

Updated aviation demand forecasts reveal all five of London’s main airports will be completely full by the mid-2030s and four will reach capacity within a decade, according to the government.

Transport secretary Chris Grayling said the need for an additional runway at Heathrow is ‘even greater than originally thought’.

He said the government’s timeline for the airport expansion remains on track, despite announcing the launch of a new consultation giving the public more time to respond to the proposal to build a third runway.

The airport’s existing two runways are already operating at full capacity, while Gatwick’s passenger numbers have risen from 34 million to 43 million over the past five years.

During the same period, Stansted, Luton and London City saw a combined increase of 13 million passengers.

Grayling said: "Leaving the EU is a new chapter for Britain and provides us with a great opportunity to forge a new role in the world. We are determined to seize that opportunity and having the right infrastructure in place will allow us to build a more global Britain.

"The case for expanding Heathrow is as strong as ever and we want to hear your views on it."

The public has until December 19 to respond to new evidence in the revised airports national policy statement, including updated long-term aviation forecasts and the new air quality plan. Depsite opening the new public consultation, the Department for Transport said it still expects to publish final proposals for a new runway in the first half of next year, ahead of a government vote.

If the scheme gets MPs go ahead, Heathrow expects to start building a third runway in 2021, to be completed by 2025.

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