#3088 A variant on that theme would be for Govt to say 'Either LHR R3 or LGW R2 is worth doing. Let's have a preferred option but keep the other one in play just in case something goes wrong with the numbers on the preferred one.' There's a lot more work to be done to nail down the costs of the Heathrow and Gatwick schemes ; the relative costs and the relative public funding component could yet be significant to the decision. Everything has its price-- or almost everything!
#3089 Another variant is to say for example ' On the modest growth scenario, we need one more runway in each of the next two decades, so the financial cases should assume (say) R3 by 2026 and R2 by 2036.' Just because R3 and R2 simultaneously is out doesn't imply that sequentially is out. And I presume R3 and R4 at Heathrow would be a sequential plan anyway.