The UK Court of Appeal has ruled against London Heathrow Airport’s plans to construct a third runway, calling it ‘illegal’.
The court said that the runway proposal did not take into consideration the government’s climate change commitments.
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The plans for the third runway can proceed provided they adhere to the country’s climate policy, the judges said.
Environmental groups, councils and the Mayor of London presented the case against the third runway.
Heathrow has decided to challenge the court’s decision at the Supreme Court.
A Heathrow spokesperson said: “The Court of Appeal dismissed all appeals against the government, including on ‘noise’ and ‘air quality’, apart from one which is eminently fixable.
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By GlobalData“We will appeal to the Supreme Court on this one issue and are confident that we will be successful. In the meantime, we are ready to work with the government to fix the issue that the court has raised.”
However, the UK Government has decided against appealing the judgement.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps tweeted: “Airport expansion is core to boosting global connectivity. We also take seriously our commitment to the environment. This government won’t appeal today’s judgement given our manifesto makes clear any Heathrow expansion will be industry-led.”
Last August, International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) CEO Willie Walsh criticised Heathrow Airport for hiding the increasing cost of the proposed third runway.
In May, the High Court of Justice in London rejected legal challenges from environmental campaigners opposed to the construction of the third runway.
Following the ruling, Heathrow Airport launched a 12 and a half-week consultation on its expansion plans to gather public opinion and improve the final planning application for the project.
