Partners pledge to push ahead with third runway

Heathrow Airport  has joined forces with business and trade union leaders to see the third runway, approved last week by the UK government, through to completion.
Worker and industry representatives committed to work with the airport authority and government in a ceremony at Heathrow’s Terminal 2.
Signatories included director general of the British International Freight Association, Robert Keen.
In a statement they said: “Expanding Heathrow sends a clear signal to the world that we are open for business. Over the next ten years this project will create thousands of decent jobs and apprenticeships throughout a majority-British supply chain.”
It would also leave a skills legacy in every part of the country supporting industries such as steel, manufacturing and engineering, creating thousands more jobs over the years ahead.
Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye earlier said that government backing for the runway had already triggered £50m of supply chain investment before the end of 2017 and also outlined that the airport would look to issue contracts worth £460m before construction begins in 2021.
He said: “The decision to expand Heathrow is a momentous turning point for our country, underlined by the unprecedented level of commitment from British workers and industry. This weekend Heathrow started the process of pumping hundreds of millions of pounds into the British supply chain to build an airport that is fair, affordable and secures the benefits of expansion for the whole of the UK.”