Heathrow third runway delayed to 2039

The date matters less than the signal: a project of this scale at the UK's busiest hub now sits well over a decade out, which keeps the capacity constraint at one of Europe's key long-haul gateways unresolved for longer. That has knock-on effects for airlines seeking slot access, for competing European hubs, and for freight and logistics planning around Heathrow. The open question is whether the revised timeline holds or slips again, and what interim capacity measures, if any, fill the gap.