Heathrow expansion race begins as rival runway plans land
August 1, 2025
The UK government has received initial proposals for expanding Heathrow Airport, setting in motion a process that could pave the way for the long-delayed third runway – though key decisions remain months away.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander confirmed on Wednesday evening that submissions had been received by the 31 July deadline set by the Department for Transport (DfT).
“I am pleased to have received the initial Heathrow expansion proposals – a significant step towards unlocking growth, creating jobs, and delivering vital national infrastructure to drive forward our Plan for Change,” she said.
“We’ll consider the proposals carefully over the summer so that we can begin a review of the Airports National Policy Statement later this year.”
Heathrow expansion: the contenders
Among the submissions is expected to be a proposal from Heathrow Airport Ltd (HAL), which reaffirms its longstanding plan to build a third runway northwest of the current northern runway.
HAL’s proposal focuses on scaling the project to meet environmental and legal obligations, while reaffirming its aim of making the new runway operational by 2035.
A competing submission from Arora Group offers a different approach, suggesting a potentially cheaper and phased alternative that it claims would deliver similar capacity improvements with less disruption.
Arora has previously positioned itself as a challenger to Heathrow’s monopoly, arguing that competition in infrastructure delivery would yield better value for passengers and airlines.
Its “Heathrow West” plan has been developed alongside Bechtel and avoids the need to build over the M25.
The 200-page proposal and timeline describe the delivery of a fully operational runway by 2035, and a new Terminal 6 – located west of the existing Terminal 5 – opened in two phases (T6A in 2036 and T6B in 2040).
It is the first time the government has invited a competing proposal for Heathrow expansion.
The HAL-led plan is seen by some as more comprehensive and consistent with previous approvals, benefiting from detailed technical and environmental groundwork already undertaken.
However, critics argue that it remains expensive, slow, and vulnerable to legal challenges, particularly over climate impact and air quality.
Would a shorter third runway work for LHR?
Arora’s rival submission, while potentially more commercially flexible, faces questions around feasibility, planning certainty, and whether it can match the technical and logistical robustness of Heathrow’s own proposal.
Concerns have centred on how the proposed shorter, 2,800m runway – versus the 3,500m runway with the HAL proposal – would handle the largest aircraft that currently operate into Heathrow.
There are also questions to be answered around the design of taxiway access to the new northern runway, and potential for longer taxi times to reach the runway, as well as movement area congestion on the western side of the airfield.
Interestingly, Heathrow’s own CEO has indicated that the airport would be open to building a shorter third runway in order to bring down the monumental construction costs.
What happens next?
The Department for Transport is expected to assess the submissions over the summer before launching a formal review of the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS), which underpins any approval for new runway capacity at Heathrow.
Only after the ANPS review is complete will any bidders be able to submit a Development Consent Order (DCO) application — the legal mechanism required for major infrastructure projects.
Final decisions on whether, when, and how to proceed will then be made, subject to any legal challenges.
If all goes to plan, the government hopes to see construction begin within the current Parliament and a third runway operational by 2035.
Alexander said at the start of the bidding process that the government’s “clear objective is to enable the delivery of an operational third runway by 2035, with applications for planning consent coming forward in time to enable decisions to be made this Parliament”.
