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.

"Three-quarters of the village would be demolished. It wouldn't be a viable community. Pubs, the shops will go because there aren't enough customers. "The bus won't come up on the main road because there's a runway in the way.

What could a third runway at Heathrow mean for tourism and the climate? Whatever the outcome, it’s still a long way away from happening.

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

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.

A third runway could enable it to reach around 740,000 flights a year. In addition to more long-haul routes, Heathrow previously proposed that flights to domestic airports such as Belfast International, Liverpool, Humberside, Prestwick and Durham Tees Valley could operate if its capacity is increased.

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.

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.

Britain's Labour government will back plans for a third runway at London's Heathrow Airport, finance minister Rachel Reeves announced on Wednesday, saying the project could create over 100,000 jobs in the economy.