Heathrow’s new runway delayed four years as Burnham fails to back project

Heathrow‘s proposed third runway could open four years later than the UK government’s previous target, while Prime Minister Andy Burnham has declined to say whether he supports the expansion.

The airport now says its priority is to secure planning permission by 2029 and open the runway within a decade, putting its potential opening in 2039. The government’s previously stated target was to have a third runway operating by 2035.

A Heathrow spokesperson told Reuters: “Our focus has always been to secure planning permission by 2029. Once achieved, the runway will be open within a decade.”

The airport described 2035 as an “ambitious target” that would have required significant regulatory and policy changes.

The change comes as the project’s political future has also become less certain under Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

Burnham declines to back Heathrow runway

Appearing on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg at the start of the Labour Party conference, Burnham repeatedly declined to say whether he supported construction of Heathrow’s third runway.

“I think, principally, it’s a matter for London,” Burnham said. “I think you’ve got to hear the voice of people there first. It’s not right for me to just jump straight in on the back of the consultation.”

He later said the government should consider responses to the consultation before deciding how to proceed.

“I think it’s right that we hear what people have said through the consultation, and then consider the way forward from there,” Burnham said.

Burnham did not say he opposed the runway. However, his reluctance to endorse it marks a change in tone from the government led by his predecessor, Keir Starmer.

Government had targeted 2035 opening

The government formally backed a third Heathrow runway in January 2025, when then-Chancellor Rachel Reeves presented expansion as part of its economic growth strategy.

The government said the project could create more than 100,000 direct jobs and argued that much of the wider economic benefit would be felt outside London and the South East.

In November 2025, ministers selected Heathrow Airport Limited’s northwest runway proposal as the scheme around which the government would develop its expansion policy.

The Department for Transport said at the time that its programme would allow a planning decision by 2029 and flights from the new runway by 2035.

The government’s Heathrow Expansion Programme continued to describe its objective as an operational third runway by 2035, supported by a Development Consent Order by 2029.

Heathrow’s latest timetable could push the opening four years beyond that target.

Heathrow still has no planning permission

Construction remains some way off. The Department for Transport launched a consultation on its draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement in June. The document sets the policy framework against which a future planning application would be considered.

The government says Heathrow expansion must meet four tests covering economic growth, climate change, air quality and noise. Importantly, the policy statement does not itself give Heathrow permission to build the runway.

Heathrow remains in the pre-application stage of the Development Consent Order process and must submit a formal application.

The airport’s expansion plan would require construction of a northwest runway and major associated infrastructure, including changes to the M25.

Heathrow argues expansion would increase capacity at an airport that is already operating close to its limits and improve the UK’s international connectivity.

But Burnham’s latest comments raise questions over whether a scheme strongly backed by the previous government will receive the same political support from the new prime minister.

For now, Heathrow is working towards planning permission in 2029. Its timetable suggests passengers may have to wait until 2039 before the first aircraft takes off from the new runway.