New Heathrow runway may be built on ramp over M25

Transport Secretary says third runway at Heathrow Airport may involve “ramp” over motorway for the planes to take off from.

Following yesterday’s announcement that a new runway at Heathrow has been given the green light, Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling has said that the new runway may involve planes taking off from a “ramp”.

Mr Grayling said this would be “cheaper and quicker” than building a tunnel for the M25 under the new runway and would cause less disruption to drivers.

Many other airports around the world have built runways over motorways. It would involve “a very gentle hill up which the planes can take off”.

The new runway at Heathrow will bring economic benefits to passengers and the wider economy worth up to £61Bn and create as many as 77,000 additional local jobs over the next 14 years, according to the Department of Transport.

Heathrow said the expansion would allow the airport to offer more direct flights to UK destination as well as up to 40 new cities including Wuhan, Osaka and Quito.

A public consultation will be held on the effects of airport expansion before the government makes a final decision as part of a national policy statement on aviation.

Gatwick airport, who were also in the running for the expansion, have said it was disappointed with the decision, which was “not the right answer for Britain”.

The Cabinet is split over the decision, with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson saying a third runway was “undeliverable”, Education Secretary, Justine Greening, whose Putney constituency in southwest London is near the airport, has also been a vocal critic of Heathrow expansion.

Construction is not likely to begin until 2020 or 2021 the Airports Commission has said. It is unlikely that any new runway capacity will be operational before 2025.

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