Group of large firms back third runway bid by Heathrow’s owners

A coalition of large UK businesses have urged the Government to back an expansion proposal by the owners of Heathrow airport.

The bosses of companies which use the west London airport such as fashion brand Burberry, coffee chain Caffe Nero and department store Fortnum and Mason wrote to Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander in support of the plan to build a full-length, 3,500-metre third runway.

A rival proposal from Arora Group, led by hotel tycoon Surinder Arora, involves installing a 2,800-metre new runway.

This would not involve moving the M25 motorway, whereas the airport’s scheme does.

Ms Alexander will announce by the end of the month which of the plans will be taken forward to inform the remainder of her review of the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS), which will provide the framework for making decisions on airport growth.

The letter sent by businesses backing the proposal from Heathrow’s owners stated that “centralised management” of the airport’s terminals is vital to ensure “efficient commercial negotiations” and “strategic allocation of space”.

It added: “Heathrow is a brand we choose to operate within as a trusted partner, ensuring a consistent and high-quality experience that our customers can rely on.

“We understand that both schemes have submitted additional evidence ahead of a decision later this month.

“We urge you to ensure that Heathrow’s growth is led by the organisation best placed to deliver it: Heathrow itself.

“This isn’t just Heathrow’s growth at stake – it’s ours.”

Among the other signatories to the letter were the bosses of engineering consultancy Arup, pub chain Fuller’s and steel producer 7 Steel UK.

Speaking at an aviation conference in Westminster last week, Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye said building a shorter runway would cost “almost the same” as a full-length version but deliver “much less capacity”.

On Monday, Arora Group said the shorter runway it is proposing could be used by all aircraft types at Heathrow, and accommodate 99.3% of flights in a three-runway system.

It added that at approximately £23 billion, the estimated cost of its plan is 30% less than that of Heathrow’s owners, which would result in about “£10 billion in savings and translate to substantially lower charges for airlines and passengers”.

Airlines have expressed concern at the impact on passenger charges from Heathrow expansion.

Heathrow’s owners largely consist of overseas investors, led by private equity giant Ardian and the sovereign wealth funds of Qatar and Saudi Arabia.