Transport secretary Chris Grayling made the announcement to push back the vote on the government’s Airports’ National Policy Statement (NPS) until the “first half of 2018”.
The House of Commons will have to approve the NPS to allow Heathrow expansion to go ahead. The government had originally planned to hold this vote during winter 2017/18.
Grayling admitted: “The timing of the election, in particular the need to restart a select committee inquiry into the draft Airports NPS, means we now expect to lay any final NPS in Parliament in the first half of 2018, for a vote in the House of Commons.
“This government is fully committed to realising the benefits that a new north-west runway at Heathrow would bring, in terms of economic growth, boosting jobs and skills, strengthening domestic links and – critically – increasing and developing our international connectivity as we prepare to leave the European Union.”
Although the government’s policy is to support a new runway at Heathrow – the plan still has vocal opponents within the cabinet, including foreign secretary Boris Johnson.
The government’s consultation on Heathrow expansion closed in May and received more than 70,000 responses – Grayling said he would give an update on the government’s response to the consultation when MPs come back from their summer holiday in September.
Grayling also unveiled new rules governing night flights at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted which he said would “encourage the use of quieter aircraft at all three airports by reducing the amount of noise these airports are legally allowed to make”.
“This decision strikes a balance between managing the impacts on local communities by locking in the benefits offered by recent technological developments, with the economic benefits of night flights,” he added.
“This decision should be seen as a signal that this government takes this issue very seriously, which is why we expect a ban on scheduled night flights of 6.5 hours at an expanded Heathrow.”
