New details emerge on alternative Heathrow third runway proposal

Promoters of an alternative Heathrow third runway scheme have provided more details ahead of a final government decision on the airport’s expansion by the end of the month.

 

Arora Group disputed claims that its shorter runway proposal would have “much less capacity” than Heathrow’s plan for expansion

 

The hotels, property and construction company pointed out that annual capacity can exceed 756,000 air traffic movements a year under its Heathrow West scheme, exceeding the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) current requirement by more than 16,000.

 

At £23 billion, the estimated cost of the Arora proposal is 30% less than Heathrow‘s scheme, which can deliver about £10 billion in savings and translate to “substantially” lower charges for airlines and passengers. 

 

The 2,800m runway meets the same technical standards as Heathrow’s existing runways, “enabling all aircraft types to operate and accommodating 99.3% of all aircraft movements on a three runway system,” Arora pointed out following the Department for Transport’s request last month for further information regarding Heathrow expansion proposals.

 

Technical work demonstrates that the M4 spur carriageway will not require lowering, as well as avoiding the M25, thereby reducing construction complexity, according to Arora.

 

The Heathrow West scheme includes a new Terminal 6 and positions all infrastructure west of Terminal 5, avoiding the need to move the M25 motorway. 

 

This contrasts with Heathrow’s scheme that would require major reconfiguration of one of Europe’s busiest motorway stretches, affecting 210,000 vehicles a day, according to Arora.

 

Company founder Surinder Arora said: “We are delighted to have an opportunity to provide more details about our proposed Heathrow West scheme to the government, directly helping to deliver their objective to unlock growth and to give businesses and passengers the globally competitive airport they deserve at Heathrow.

 

“This is a once in a generation moment to finally deliver the expanded Heathrow that many in the airline and airport community have called for. 

 

“We are especially delighted to also now confirm we can avoid disrupting the M4 as well as the M25 which further makes the case for our scheme when compared to the alternative. 

 

“Now is the time for the government to consider the two schemes and we look forward to further engagement.”

 

Heathrow West chief executive Carlton Brown added: “For too long Heathrow has blamed its ‘central London location’ and airline demands as a reason why the world’s most expensive airport cannot be transformed into the world’s best. 

 

“We have shown that by bringing world class delivery partners together, listening to the airline community, and learning from Heathrow’s more successful peers around the world, we can deliver an alternative approach, without delay, to give this critical national infrastructure the transformation Britain deserves.”

 

Heathrow insists its third runway project is "shovel-ready", ANPS-compliant, widely supported, and delivers the biggest benefits with the least local impact by unlocking at least 30 new destinations, serving up to 150 million passengers on 756,000 flights a year.