Third Heathrow runway should only go ahead if airlines pay for cleaner flying, say advisers
The UK's Climate Change Committee advises that Heathrow's third runway should only proceed if the aviation industry funds cleaner fuels and carbon removal technologies. This condition aims to ensure the expansion aligns with the country's Net Zero targets by making airlines bear the costs of decarbonization. While the government intends to consider the advice, the airline industry has criticized the proposal as potentially making flights unaffordable for many passengers.
- ▪The Climate Change Committee stated that Heathrow expansion is currently incompatible with the UK's Net Zero target without industry-funded decarbonization measures.
- ▪Implementing these changes could increase the cost of a return flight to New York by approximately £400 in today's prices by 2050.
- ▪The proposed £33 billion project would increase Heathrow's capacity from 85 million to 150 million passengers annually.
- ▪Airlines UK rejected the committee's approach, warning that the costs would make holidays out of reach for millions of people.
- ▪Carbon removal technology is not yet available at scale, with credible plans existing for only 1% of the engineered removals needed by the late 2030s.
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| Publication time | Wed, 16 Sep 2026 00:05:51 GMT |
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Third Heathrow runway should only go ahead if airlines pay for cleaner flying, say advisers Image source, Getty ImagesByMatt McGrathEnvironment correspondentPublished2 minutes agoHeathrow's third runway cannot be approved without changes to current climate policies, the government's advisers have said.The Climate Change Committee (CCC) , externalsaid expansion can still go ahead but only if the aviation industry funds cleaner fuels and pays for machines that suck carbon dioxide out of the air.Making the industry pay could push up the cost of flying with a return trip to Alicante costing around £150 more by 2050, and a return to New York up £400 in today's prices, it said.Once built, the expanded airport would produce more carbon dioxide than any other single sector of the economy by 2050.
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