Chancellor John Healey stated that a third runway at Heathrow Airport represents "a case for growth," breaking with Prime Minister Andy Burnham's more cautious stance on the expansion during a speech at the International Monetary Fund in Bangkok.
Healey said airport expansion had been "a big part of jobs and growth" in recent decades. He confirmed the government is reviewing responses to a closed public consultation run by the Transport Department, with further decisions to follow. Burnham previously told the BBC the issue was "a matter for London and Londoners" and suggested the capital should have a say before he commits.
The £33bn project would add a third runway to the UK's busiest airport, lifting annual flight capacity from 480,000 to 720,000. It requires demolition of hundreds of homes, diversion of rivers and tunnelling of the M25 motorway between junctions 14 and 15. The runway was originally slated to open by 2035 but Heathrow has indicated a delay to 2039 due to planning and regulatory hurdles.
Heathrow serves more than 80 million travellers annually across four passenger terminals and two runways. The airport's chief executive Thomas Woldbye called the project essential, saying not building it would be a "huge missed opportunity" and that benefits would reach "all the way from the north all the way to the south of the UK" through supply chain effects.
Heathrow's consortium of owners has requested explicit backing from Burnham by year end to proceed. The debate has stretched for decades, facing opposition from residents, politicians and climate campaigners. Healey's predecessor Rachel Reeves had made runway expansion central to an argument that Britain was open for business, announcing last year that "a third runway is badly needed" and the government could not "duck the decision any longer."
The Department for Transport said it is "considering the appropriate next steps" following the consultation period.