# Government supports Heathrow third runway, Healey says

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/government-supports-heathrow-third-runway-healey-says/
- Published: 2026-11-11T18:20:59+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-11T20:06:53+00:00
- Original publisher: City AM (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.cityam.com/government-has-moved-heaven-and-earth-to-deliver-heathrow-third-runway-transport-secretary-claims/
- Topics: Business, Culture, Fashion, Government, Politics

## Key points

- The government has formally backed Heathrow’s proposed third runway.
- The £49bn project still needs planning approval and a parliamentary vote.
- Ministers also criticised air traffic control outages that disrupted passengers.

## Summary

Transport Secretary John Healey has said the government supports a third runway at Heathrow, its first formal endorsement of the £49bn project since Andy Burnham became Prime Minister. The backing signals a return to the previous government’s growth-focused approach, after Burnham had left the decision to London and Londoners.

Healey said airport expansion can drive wider economic growth but acknowledged that infrastructure projects still take too long to approve. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the government had accelerated work on the planning framework for Heathrow, which is expected to be published early next year before a parliamentary vote. She also criticised air traffic control failures that caused passenger disruption, saying an inquiry’s findings would be published soon.

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.