Heathrow opens its latest eight-week public consultation on the proposed third runway on Tuesday 27 October 2026, running until 22 December, as the airport's own timetable points to an opening closer to 2039 than to the earlier 2035 target.

What the consultation covers

The consultation forms part of the preparations for a Development Consent Order application, the formal planning process required before construction can begin. Heathrow has said it will hold more than 20 public events and six online sessions, and that it will publish further detail on meeting tests on carbon, noise and air quality.

Responses can be made through the airport's expansion pages, and printed copies are to be available at local inspection points. The consultation does not itself grant planning permission: that decision still has to go through examination and approval.

Why 2039, not 2035

Heathrow has said its focus has always been to secure planning permission by 2029, and that once permission is achieved the runway will open within a decade. On that sequence, a 2039 opening follows naturally, and 2035 is now described as an ambitious target rather than the working date.

The wider expansion is put at around £49 billion of private investment, including about £21 billion for the third runway and new and upgraded terminal infrastructure. Heathrow estimates cited by the GMB union put job creation at more than 108,000, though that figure depends on the final design and on planning consent being granted.

Sources: Air Cargo News, Heathrow third runway looks likely to open closer to 2039 than 2035; CAPA, Heathrow expansion consultation summary; GMB statement on the expansion timetable.