Heathrow Airport Expansion

On Tuesday 17th May Cllr. Tony Popham attended a briefing given by the CEO John Holland-Kaye and Senior Management from Heathrow Airport on the expansion of a third runway at Heathrow.

Tony asked questions about flight paths over Elmbridge and predominantly Molesey and how this will affect us. The outputs of the briefing are summarised below:

• The new runway will deliver approximately 40,000 jobs directly and a further 140,000 locally.
• It would increase air traffic in and out of Heathrow by over 50%.
• There would be respite periods on each of the runways
• Results from the test flights carried out over Elmbridge and Molesey coupled with new technology should allow new trajectories for flights into and out of the airport.
• Changing flight paths needs the Airports Commission approval and it is not certain if this is a done deal.

Tony’s conclusion from briefing is that the Prime Minister will probably recommend the expansion of the third runway at Heathrow and the new technology available for flight patterns will see an increase of flights over Elmbridge and Molesey, increasing air and noise pollution.

Logically the expansion of Gatwick Airport would be the better choice as fewer homes would need to be demolish and, being in a less densely populated area, there would be less disruption to business  and local infrastructure . The air and noise pollution wouldn’t have such an impact on the towns and villages that surround Gatwick. Trying to get to and from Heathrow while the 3rd runway is being built will be a nightmare, both for Residents, travellers, and business.

So if you feel as strongly as Tony that Heathrow is the wrong choice, then please write to your MP Dominic Raab at