An expanded Heathrow would give passengers more choice-at least 30 new daily routes, extra domestic connections, and a better selection of flight times to the most popular destinations. Alongside more reliable journeys and cheaper fares through an expanded airline selection, terminals will be more spacious and accessible; flights will take off/depart quicklier, thanks to a redesign of the airfield, said the airport authorities in a release.

Once completed, Heathrow's plans would grow the UK economy by 0.43 percent GDP, add 50 percent capacity to the country's most valuable trading port-already enabling more than EUR 200 billion of annual trade.

The blueprint submitted to the government on August 1 included:

- A north-western runway up to 3,500m

- Increased capacity to serve up to 756,000 flights and 150m passengers

- A brand-new terminal 'T5X', expanding Terminal 2 and three new satellite terminals

The investment consists of three main elements: EUR 21 billion for the new runway and airfield infrastructure (up from EUR 14 billion in 2018 due to construction inflation), EUR 12 billion for new terminal and stand capacity-the brand new T5X-and EUR 15 billion for modernizing the current airport through expanding Terminal 2, and ultimately closing Terminal 3.

A third runway and supporting infrastructure can be ready within a decade, and the full investment across all terminals would take place over the coming decades.

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