Heathrow has welcomed a Supreme Court ruling which overturned a Court of Appeal decision in a case brought by environmental campaigners objecting to plans for a third runway.
The Supreme Court said the airport’s strategy was legitimately based on previous, less stringent, climate targets at the time it was agreed.
Heathrow can now pursue planning permission for the runway but is likely to face opposition in a public enquiry and still needs final approval from government.
The BBC reported that a full application from Heathrow may still be more than a year away as the airport “re-assembles a planning team and strives to cope with Covid”.
An airport spokesperson said: “This is the right result for the country, which will allow Global Britain to become a reality.
“Only by expanding the UK’s hub airport can we connect all of Britain to all of the growing markets of the world, helping to create hundreds of thousands of jobs in every nation and region of our country.”
The airport said demand for aviation will recover from Covid and the additional capacity will allow Britain “to compete for trade and win against our rivals in France and Germany”.
Heathrow said today’s ruling recognises “the robust planning process that will require us to prove expansion is compliant with the UK’s climate change obligations, including the Paris Climate Agreement, before construction can begin”.
“As passenger numbers recover, our immediate focus will be to continue to ensure their safety and to maintain our service levels while we consult with investors, government, airline customers and regulators on our next steps,” said the airport.
Friends of the Earth, which was among the campaigners fighting the runway plans, said it has launched a petition to lobby Prime Minister Boris Johnson to scrap the runway plans.
It said in a statement: “The Supreme Court has overturned our historic legal victory against the government’s decision to support expansion at Heathrow airport, and allowed this climate-wrecking project to proceed to the next stage.
“But we must stop it going any further. We can’t let one of the single largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK grow any bigger.
“That’s why it’s time to take our demand straight to the government – it can still change its plans for Heathrow expansion.
“And with the Prime Minister trying to prove his green credentials before the UK hosts the international COP26 climate talks in 2021, it’s the perfect time to do so.
“We believe there’s a strong chance that these plans wouldn’t be compatible with climate policy if made today – the government must reconsider Heathrow expansion in this light.”
Jock Lowe, director of Heathrow Hub – a plan to extend the northern runway – commented: “The irony of the Supreme Court judgement is that Heathrow’s third runway has no prospect of being built.
“Heathrow Airport Limited now faces the impossible task of explaining how it intends to finance its third runway proposal, which has already burgeoned far from its original scheme and will cost an estimated £38 billion in today’s prices.
“Our Extended Runway proposal is the last man standing. It is far cheaper, simpler, and greener than the third runway.”