Heathrow expansion threatens thousands of regional UK jobs, analysis shows

An economic paper from the Department for Transport, highlighted by the New Economics Foundation (NEF), estimates that expanding Heathrow Airport with a third runway could divert about 15,200 aviation jobs and 6,400 jobs at other London and south‑east airports to Heathrow. At the same time, the report projects significant job losses elsewhere: almost 10,000 jobs in the West Midlands and roughly 9,500 jobs linked to Birmingham Airport’s expected loss of 7.5 million passengers a year by 2050.

The findings arrive a week after Andy Burnham became prime minister, raising questions about the political support for the scheme. Former chancellor Rachel Reeves had championed the project, but the government now stresses that the NEF analysis covers a limited period and argues that the expansion would still deliver nationwide benefits. A peer reviewer warned, “In my view, it would be erroneous to claim a broad distribution of the gains from Heathrow to regions on the basis of the modelling,” while NEF head Alex Chapman noted the runway is looking “less like a plausible plan” with each new data release.