I'm seeing a "softening-up" for an LGW decision.
Maybe, but that does not resolve the problem.
The fact is that Heathrow and Gatwick are both in desperate need of a new runway as they are both running at capacity (Heathrow more so they Gatwick), Heathrow is packed and Gatwick is like a cattle market especially in the school holidays. But no one else is to blame apart from the Government who should have planned ahead, Heathrow has been running at capacity for years now and it's getting ridiculous. It's all down to politics. Every other country with a major airport in Europe seem to get it right but the UK. It's an embarrassment and a disgrace. Even Manchester received a second runway well before any London airport. If Heathrow gets a new runway, there are 30 airlines waiting to operate out of Heathrow and any existing airline would like to increase frequency and introduce new services, and it will be too late. It will be running near capacity again very soon after the completion of the expansion.
A case for a third
and fourth parallel rwy well made!
in fact LHR used to have 4 -6 runways until they closed the cross runways to expand the Terminals........................
.......because LHR was constructed when aircraft could not cope with crosswinds and capacity was not an issue. It had 6 rwys (3 pairs of 2 parallel rwys), of which only two could be used simulataneously.
These days capacity is very much an issue and crosswind movements are not, hence the need for more parallel rwys.
To HH
"In fact LHR used to have 4 -6 runways until they closed the cross runways to expand the Terminals........................"
With modern computing technology was this in part a mistake ? - Not all Six runways; but perhaps keeping two.
CAT III with 20/20 hindsight.
The mistake was not replacing them with new parallel rwys north of the A4 Bath Road back in the day.