UK judge throws out Heathrow expansion plan

Heathrow Airport’s $18bln plan for a new runway is in doubt after a UK judge said it didn’t comply with the country’s commitments on climate change.

Francesca Lynagh reports.

Plans for an extra runway at London's Heathrow Airport are in disarray.

On Thursday (February 27) a UK judged ruled that the plan was unlawful.

The ruling says it doesn't comply with the country's commitments on climate change.

That puts the $18 billion project in major doubt.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson was already a long-standing opponent.

Now the judge says the government has made no move to appeal the ruling.

That means it will have to rework the plans if it wants to go ahead.

Though Heathrow itself says it definitely will appeal.

It's all just the latest twist in decades of dithering over the airport, which is already operating at maximum capacity.

Supporters say expansion will be vital for trading links after Brexit.

But environmentalists argue that airport growth just means more greenhouse gas emissions.

That argument likely to get an airing Friday, when activist Greta Thunberg takes part in a youth protest against climate change in the UK.