Britain’s government has backed a tortured effort to build a third runway at Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, throwing its weight behind a decades-old proposal that has been beset by political, legal and environmental challenges.

Rachel Reeves is facing fierce opposition within Labour over her plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport.

Heathrow's third runway can be built and operating in a decade's time, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said. Reeves told the BBC she wanted to see "spades in the ground" in the current Parliament and planes to start using the runway by 2035.

It is the rich and the corporations who will take the lion’s share of the benefits from Labour’s and all airport expansions, while the poorest around the world pay the costs.

Plans to expand London's other airports are already further along than Heathrow's and have in the past been viewed as an alternative to a third Heathrow runway. Work is set to start this year to expand capacity at Stansted's terminal. The government is due to make a decision on Gatwick airport by 27 February.

The third runway is part of its drive to lift the U.K. economy out of a long period of stagnation, Treasury chief Rachel Reeves said in a speech on Wednesday.

U.K. Treasury chief Rachel Reeves says that the new Labour government is backing the construction of third runway at London’s Heathrow Airport.

British finance minister Rachel Reeves is expected to back the expansion of Heathrow Airport on Wednesday, turning to the country's most controversial infrastructure project in her hunt for economic growth.

To justify air travel emissions ballooning in the meantime, the aviation sector has promised a mix of “supply-side” measures, like replacing kerosene with so-called “sustainable aviation fuel” (SAF), which Reeves described as “a game changer”, and making planes lighter and more fuel-efficient.

Rachel Reeves has told London Mayor Sadiq Khan she is certain to defeat his bid to sabotage her Heathrow expansion scheme. Asked if Mr Khan was able to stop to her third runway plan, the Chancellor replied: ‘No.’ The capital’s Labour mayor could mount a legal challenge, she said, but he would not prevail in the end.

Ryanair has announced seven new London-Stansted routes but wants UK airport tax scrapped saying it is stifling growth in the UK economy.

Officials say Dubai International Airport saw a record 92.3 million passengers pass through its terminals in 2024.