Top UK court gives nod to Heathrow airport's expansion

LONDON • Britain's top court has given the go-ahead to the expansion of Heathrow Airport, allowing the £14 billion (S$25.22 billion) plan to proceed after decades of legal battles and political wrangling.

The Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday overturned a previous decision that had blocked the plan on environmental grounds.

Heathrow, Britain's biggest airport, has only two runways and is keen to proceed with a third despite the plunge in air traffic during the Covid-19 pandemic that has seen it lose its crown as the busiest hub in Europe.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been a vociferous opponent of the expansion, which was approved under the previous government. As mayor of London, he said in 2015 he would lie down in front of bulldozers if necessary to stop work on the third runway.

Mr Johnson's spokesman on Wednesday said the government would respond in due course.

In February, a court had declared the expansion unlawful, ruling in favour of climate change campaigners. The judge had said that a failure to take into account the British government's commitments on climate change was "legally fatal" to the plans.

But a Supreme Court judge told a virtual session that the government had taken climate change commitments into account when designing its airport policy.

"For these reasons, the court unanimously concludes that the appeal should be allowed. The airports national policy statement is lawful," Judge Philip Sales said.

Since February, the aviation sector has been hit by its worst downturn, meaning Heathrow now has plenty of spare capacity, but the airport said another runway was still vital for the future.

"Demand for aviation will recover from Covid-19, and the additional capacity at an expanded Heathrow will allow Britain as a sovereign nation to compete for trade and win against our rivals in France and Germany," said a Heathrow spokesman.

Heathrow and its supporters argue that Britain's departure from the European Union makes expansion critical to ensuring the country can increase trade with the rest of the world.

The new runway will not be opened until the 2030s, the airport said. Heathrow is owned by Spain's Ferrovial, the Qatar Investment Authority and China Investment Corp, among others.

In comparison with Heathrow's two runways, Frankfurt has four and Amsterdam six.

Pre-Covid-19, Heathrow had no space to add new flights.

The project has been hotly debated in Britain for almost half a century. The new runway was previously approved in 2009 before being scrapped the following year, and then approved again in 2018.

REUTERS