Thomas Woldbye, chief executive of Heathrow Airport, warned that declining to build a third runway would represent a "huge missed opportunity" for the UK, as the airport's private investors would deploy capital elsewhere globally.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Woldbye pressed the government for clarity on its position. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has not committed to the project, saying the question is one "for London and Londoners" and that local voices should be heard first. Burnham previously opposed the scheme as Mayor of Greater Manchester.
Woldbye argued the decision carried national implications. He told the programme the airport's supply chain extends "all the way from the north all the way to the south of the UK," and that union support existed for the expansion. He also pointed to the Department for Transport's estimate that expansion could deliver around £40 billion in economic benefits across the country.
The airport currently handles more than 80 million passengers annually across two runways, with flight numbers capped at 480,000 per year. A third runway would increase that cap to 720,000 flights annually, roughly 2,000 per day on average. The project carries a £33 billion construction cost and requires demolishing hundreds of homes, diverting rivers and tunneling the M25 motorway through a section between junctions 14 and 15. The new runway was originally scheduled to open by 2035 but Heathrow has suggested a four-year delay to 2039 due to planning and regulatory hurdles.
Heathrow's ownership consortium includes French private equity firm Ardian, the Qatar Investment Authority, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and the China Investment Corporation. Woldbye stated that if these investors could not fund expansion at Heathrow, capital "will be invested somewhere else in the world" and signalled a decision would be made in the new year.
The Department for Transport said it was reviewing consultation responses and considering next steps. It remains finalising its Airports National Policy Statement, last updated in 2018, which governs decisions on new runways at Heathrow.
Woldbye acknowledged noise concerns from surrounding communities but claimed Heathrow had achieved a "stark" reduction in noise over four decades, a trend he said would continue. He stressed that years of uncertainty posed his "biggest concern" and called for government decision-making to proceed at speed.