Heathrow third runway: Full speed ahead for expansion of west London airport, signals Chancellor John Healey

The £49 billion project is also facing growing questions over its economic value.Planes come into land at Heathrow airport over nearby housing GettyAt Treasury Questions in the Commons on Tuesday, Richmond Park Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney challenged Mr Healey over a third runway, slamming it as a “white elephant project”.She stressed: “The Government's own appraisal report states that the net present value of expansion raises between minus £23.4 billion to minus £62.5 billion. “So will this Chancellor put an end to this absurd proposal?”He responded: “After years of delay, years of indecision, years of often vexatious challenge, we have given the go-ahead to this project quite simply because the economic case stacks up and will help bring growth.”Chancellor John HealeyGettyThe warned that they and passengers face being left picking up a massive bill for a third runway which could spiral.They are calling on the Government to impose a fifth test, on the development's affordability, alongside the existing four on its impact on climate change, noise, air quality and economic growth.Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander sought to make the case for a bigger airport in west London in the draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement (HENPS) published in the summer.Read MoreBut IAG tore into the document and called for the total costs of the third runway scheme to be capped at £30 billion.British Airways’ parent company International Airlines Group has criticised the Government’s economic plan for a bigger HeathrowPA WireVirgin Atlantic stressed that the estimated £33 billion cost of a third runway, increasing to £49 billion once terminal area improvements and other investment are included, would be the "world's most expensive airport scheme ever constructed".The project could also see years of travel chaos on the M25 as Heathrow’s plans include a £1.5 million scheme to move a section of the key motorway.It said another runway would "improve punctuality, reduce congestion and enhance the passenger experience", while increasing airline competition and "potentially saving" passengers £79 billion through lower fares over the next three decades.New modelling published by the University of Manchester’s Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, commissioned by environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth, said the UK aviation industry is already forecast to exceed legally binding limits in the seventh carbon budget, part of the national plan to reach net zero by 2050.Research fellow Lois Pennington, from the Tyndall Centre, said: “Every aviation scenario the UK Government has published overshoots the carbon budget Parliament has legislated, before a third runway at Heathrow is even taken into account.”Mayor of London Lord Sadiq KhanPAResponding to the report, Lord Sadiq Khan said: “The truth is the whole case for Heathrow expansion relies on outdated evidence that fails to consider the urgent challenges we face today.