The British government announced its support Tuesday for a new runway at London's Heathrow Airport, though the plan still faces hurdles before it becomes reality.
Still, the move to expand follows years of indecision about how to grow aviation capacity in London, where the city’s airports are running close to their operational limits. The runway would be the first full-length runway built in southeast England since World War II, according to the government.
Aviation industry officials in Britain had been pressuring the government for some time, warning London’s position as a leading European air hub would begin to erode to rival airports on the continent if airport capacity didn't keep up with demand.
The current debate on how to expand London’s airport capacity focused mostly on two options: whether to expand capacity at London’s Heathrow or Gatwick airports. Heathrow is currently London’s busiest hub, a major base for British Airways and one of the world’s top international airports. It was the sixth-busiest airport in the world in 2015 based on passenger numbers. That was down three spots from 2014, when Heathrow was the world's third-busiest, according to airport trade group Airports Council International.
Credit: http://www.usatoday.com
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