Heathrow's third runway can be built and operating in a decade's time, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said. Reeves told the BBC she wanted to see "spades in the ground" in the current Parliament and planes to start using the runway by 2035.

British finance minister Rachel Reeves is expected to back the expansion of Heathrow Airport on Wednesday, turning to the country's most controversial infrastructure project in her hunt for economic growth.

Rachel Reeves' support for a third runway came in a wide-ranging speech on boosting UK growth rates, which have been historically low since the 2008 global financial crisis for a variety of reasons. V

Plans to expand London's other airports are already further along than Heathrow's and have in the past been viewed as an alternative to a third Heathrow runway. Work is set to start this year to expand capacity at Stansted's terminal. The government is due to make a decision on Gatwick airport by 27 February.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced the government will support an expansion of Heathrow as part of its growth plans.

Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said Britain should focus on adding capacity at airports other than London's Heathrow and lowering passenger taxes as he laid out plans to deploy an extra 100 aircraft in the UK in the next eight years.

U.K. Treasury chief Rachel Reeves said Wednesday that the new Labour government is backing the construction of third runway at London’s Heathrow Airport. Reeves said in a speech that the construction of another runway at the U.