New proposal for Heathrow runway could reduce costs by over £5bn

Aurora Group, run by hotel tycoon Surinder Aurora, has put forward a proposal for revisions to the currently government-preferred plans for the expansion to London’s Heathrow Airport, which could create savings of up to £5.20bn on the current price tag of £17.5bn.
Heathrow is considering the alternative proposal which would involve changing the design of the terminal buildings and taxiways, as well as reducing the amount of land required for the runway to be built on.
In a statement, Mr. Aurora said that: “We want passengers to be at the heart of our plans and the current monopoly at Heathrow, which over-charges airlines and in turn raises fares for passengers, is not the right model for the future.
“Heathrow needs competition and innovation which puts passengers and airlines at the heart of the expansion project.
“One of the options we have proposed to government includes a possible shift of the runway so that it does not impact on the M25 and M4, as we know the M25 junction being affected threatens the deliverability of the whole project.
“We appreciate this is a politically sensitive issue but it is merely an option with additional savings of £1.5bn, whereas the rest of our proposals save up to £5.2bn without the need to amend the runway location.”
Willie Walsh, CEO of British Airways owner, IAG, has welcomed the new proposal, advising that: “The government should look closely at Arora’s proposal as it would significantly reduce costs.”
According to a spokesperson for Heathrow Airport, “Heathrow’s expansion proposals are supported by the government and have widespread cross-party political, business and union support.
“We continue to develop our plans to improve passenger experience, reduce the impact on local communities and lower the cost so we deliver expansion at close to current charges.
“Some of the options we are looking at sound similar to those suggested in this submission, and we will welcome views on these in the public consultation later this year.”