The company that operates Heathrow Airport, BAA, intends to build a third runway at the west London airport by 2017.
Ahead of the opening of Heathrow Terminal 5 next year, which will increase the airport’s capacity from 68 million to 90 million per annum, the company’s chief executive stressed the importance of developing the country’s number one aviation hub.
Tony Douglas said: “Heathrow is at the heart of the UK economy and one of our country’s most important assets.
“We do not underestimate the impact that Heathrow’s expansion would have on some local communities, but the decline of the UK’s only hub airport would also have real and lasting effects.”
BAA, which also operates Gatwick and Stansted airports in London, had not previously been backing more flights at Heathrow.
Nevertheless, it has stressed that its competitors on the continent are in a better position to grow as they have more runways – Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris has four, while Amsterdam Schiphol has five.
Besides Terminal 5, scheduled to open in March 2008, Heathrow is also set to benefit from another new terminal, Heathrow East, which will replace the current Terminals 1 and 2.
