Heathrow’s planned third runway may not open until 2039, four years later than the airport’s previously cited 2035 target, as the UK’s biggest aviation hub continues to work through planning and policy hurdles at London Heathrow Airport. The project remains tied to a 2029 planning permission goal, with opening expected within a decade of approval.
The revised timing reflects a longer delivery path for one of Britain’s largest infrastructure schemes. Heathrow has described 2035 as an ambitious target that would have required major regulatory and policy changes. The airport’s broader expansion package has been estimated at about £49 billion, including roughly £33 billion for the runway, the M25 diversion and a new terminal.
The Department for Transport has said there is no live planning application yet and that the government is still shaping the policy framework for any future submission. That leaves the runway timetable without a final approved construction schedule, despite the continuing focus on capacity growth, jobs and wider economic output.