How the Heathrow airport expansion could boost UK’s manufacturing

Members of Parliament (MPs) in the UK voted on 25 June in favour of expanding the nation’s largest airport.

With a 296-member majority, 415 MPs voted to build a third runway London’s Heathrow airport, against 199 votes.

It is anticipated that the £14bn (US$18.6bn) runway could generate 100,000 new jobs in the UK, as well as generating £74bn ($100bn) for the country’s economy.

The expansion is also expected to help trade, benefitting manufacturers through exports, through new access to international routes.

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The manufacturing organization, the EEF, has dubbed the runway in a blog post as a “good sign that post-Brexit Britain is still open for business.”

“Heathrow is a global freight hub, providing significant freight capacity for Britain’s exporters right across the country,” stated Chris Richards, EEF’s Head of Business Environment Policy.

“The dense global route connectivity from Heathrow ensures this freight capacity is provided in a cost effective way at a significant advantage for British based exporters.”

The expansion project intends to increase the airport’s capacity from 85.5mn to 130mn.