A3XX Airport mods!

[buck-rogers]

Excuse me if I've missed something but...

In all the sales talk from Airbus they have stressed that Airport mods would not be neccessary due to the new A3XX fitting in to the existing 80 x x80 metre plan box.

Now heathrow has announced that £150m will be needed to modify the airport. Okay the arrivals and departures will need some expanding. But there's talk of widening the runways. Why?

What about the disruption to an already busy airport while this work takes place?

Uh?

[Grandad Flyer]

I heard on the news the other day, after the announcement that the A380 will go ahead, that there are no runways in the UK that could take the aircraft. Don't know the basis behind it or where their facts came from.
Perhaps its the weight? Or the width? Sounds unlikely though.