The Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, has again urged ministers to reject the current plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport, warning of significant impacts on noise pollution, air quality, and the capital's environment. His appeal comes as the government consults on the Draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement (HENPS), a framework that will guide planning and set assessment criteria for any new runway.
Mayor's concerns over environmental and transport impacts
Sir Sadiq, a long-time opponent of the expansion, said he is "deeply concerned about the potential adverse impacts of Heathrow Expansion on air quality, noise pollution, our environment and the transport networks in the capital and beyond". He argued that additional capacity would hurt local communities and "overwhelm" London's transport networks unless funding is provided for rail, bus, and cycling upgrades around the airport.
"While aviation plays an important role in our economy and helps to keep us connected as a global city, any growth must not come at the expense of Londoners' health or our environment," he added in response to the draft HENPS. "London is proud to be leading the way in tackling the climate crisis, but I see no evidence these proposals are compatible with a credible path to Net Zero."
Sir Sadiq claimed that "incredible strides" taken to improve air quality would be put in "peril" with a third runway, which would also increase noise pollution to "unacceptable levels". Increased demand for flights would place a strain on roads and railways around the airport, he said, creating "gridlock" and potentially forcing taxpayers to "pick up a multi-billion-pound bill for the necessary public transport improvements, which are left undefined and unfunded in the current proposals".
Union sees massive employment opportunities
However, the GMB Union, which represents members across a range of employers linked to Heathrow, told MPs that a third runway would offer "massive opportunities" for employment, especially among young Londoners. Perry Phillips, Aviation Officer at GMB London Region, told the Commons Transport Committee on Wednesday, September 2, that they expect the expansion to lead to thousands of "well-paid, real-world wage jobs with pensions".
"There is a case to say that the third runway will offer opportunities - massive opportunities - for thousands of jobs and apprenticeships," Mr Phillips said. "There is an ongoing commitment from Heathrow that those jobs will be good, well paid unionised jobs with pensions - that's our expectation. Part of our support for Heathrow expansion is well-paid, real-world wage jobs with pensions, with proper contracts of employment, not the casual hours or zero-hour contracts."
The Draft HENPS states that the Northwest Runway scheme "is expected to generate up to 61,000 additional jobs in the local area by 2055" and that they expect "a significant contribution to local employment... skills and training opportunities" as part of the expansion. Mr Phillips suggested that his union will continue to hold ministers and officials to account on the guidance as the proposal moves forward. "The benefits it describes cannot simply be assumed; they must be built in," he warned.
Committee and business perspectives
City Hall was backed by the London Assembly Transport Committee, who echoed the Mayor's concern over the capital's transport network capacity. Caroline Russell, the committee chair, said: "We are particularly worried about increased crowding and reduced reliability on the Piccadilly line and the creation of substantial new demand on the Elizabeth line. Without the correct mitigations in place, expansion also risks exacerbating existing pressures on the road network, worsening the experience of local communities, and undermining efforts to encourage a shift to sustainable transport modes."
Russell added that these impacts would be felt most by people living in and around Heathrow, should the expansion go ahead. "The draft HENPS must therefore include measures to ensure there is no net increase in traffic as a result of expansion and set ambitious targets for reducing traffic in the area ahead of the expansion itself. We believe that expansion should not go ahead unless these reductions have been achieved."
John Dickie, Chief Executive at BusinessLDN, an advocacy group which backs the expansion, told MPs that "serious regulatory oversight" would be needed from both City Hall and national government on air quality, climate impact, and noise pollution changes from a third runway. "There's a great deal of regulatory and other intervention that can be done to make sure that the planes that fly into Heathrow are modern planes that emit less and which produce less noise," he told the committee. "There is also work on carbon...getting the UK Sustainable Aviation Fuel capacity up is a really important part that makes over the next decade of making sure those tests can be met."
Sir Sadiq, who has previously said that current government modelling is outdated and relies on evidence from over a decade ago, concluded: "I will continue to vehemently oppose these plans as I seek to build a fairer, safer, greener, more prosperous London for everyone." The consultation on the draft HENPS is ongoing, and the final decision on the third runway will rest with the government, with the Mayor's opposition and the union's support setting the stage for a contentious policy debate.
