The proposals include a 'North West option', a 'South West option' and a 'Northern option'. Heathrow said in a statement that it considered the westerly options to offer "clear advantages".
It said that all three options would deliver more flights while reducing the total number of people exposed to high levels of noise. The delivery cost for the options is expected to be between £14 and £18 billion and completion is anticipated by 2025-2029.
The plans also include the option to add a fourth runway in the future. "We have the ability to add extra capacity as the need arises, which makes Heathrow a lower risk option than building a new four runway hub from scratch based on uncertain future demand," the proposals said.
Heathrow said that the expansion of Heathrow would create between 70,000 and 150,000 new local jobs as well as protecting the 114,000 existing local jobs which depend on the airport. It estimated that the overall economic benefit to the proposals would be in the range of £50-£156bn.
"Heathrow offers the fastest, most cost effective and most practical route to the hub capacity the UK needs. We believe these proposals will maintain the UK’s global aviation hub status and deliver the connections Britain needs to compete for growth," the statement said.
“After half a century of vigorous debate but little action, it is clear the UK desperately needs a single hub airport with the capacity to provide the links to emerging economies which can boost UK jobs, GDP and trade," said Heathrow chief executive Colin Matthews.
"It is clear that the best solution for taxpayers, passengers and business is to build on the strength we already have at Heathrow. Today we are showing how that vision can be achieved whilst keeping the impact on local residents to an absolute minimum,” he said.
