Slow progress on Heathrow’s third runway should be national concern, boss says

A new runway at Heathrow could usher in about 276,000 more flights a year.
Photograph: Kin Cheung/AP

Heathrow has reported falling profits and a squeeze on passenger growth, as its boss said that slow progress on its “underestimated” £33bn third runway scheme should be a national concern.

Thomas Woldbye, the chief executive of Heathrow airport, said major decisions on its funding model and the legal underpinning for expansion needed to be taken by regulators and government this year if the airport was to meet the timetable set down by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, for construction to start by 2029.