Monday 17 November 2025, London: Following theDepartment for Transport’s (DfT) request on 22nd October 2025 for further information regarding Heathrow expansion proposals, the Arora Group has delivered comprehensive responses that demonstrate why Heathrow West Limited's(HWL) scheme represents the superior choice to that of Heathrow AirportLimited’s.
With the Government set to make its final decision on its preferred scheme by the end of November, Arora's submission shows that HeathrowWest will deliver greater capacity, lower costs, and reduced disruption compared to Heathrow Airport Limited’s (HAL) scheme. The submission to theGovernment can be found here.
Notable updates confirmed in the submission include:
· As well as avoiding the M25, further evidenced technical work demonstrates that the M4 Spur carriageway will not require lowering, thereby reducing construction complexity
· The new 2,800m runway meets the same technical standards as Heathrow's existing runways, enabling all aircraft types to operate and accommodating 99.3% of all aircraft movements on a three runway system
· The annual capacity can exceed 756,000 air traffic movements (ATM) per annum, exceeding the ANPS’s current requirement by over 16,000 ATM. This refutes HAL’s claims that a shorter runway would have“much less capacity”
· At approximately £23 billion, the estimated cost of Heathrow West’s proposal is 30% less than HAL's proposal, which can deliver circa £10 billion in savings and translate to substantially lower charges for airlines and passengers
The Heathrow West scheme features a new Terminal 6 and strategically positions all infrastructure west of Terminal 5, avoiding the need to move the M25 motorway. This innovative approach reduces land requirements, noise pollution and disruption to local communities and businesses.
Heathrow West’s "outside-in" construction methodology, utilising a single site access point, will reduce the construction foot print while enabling faster delivery of new airport capacity. The design also facilitates an integrated and expanded Public Transport Hub, promoting sustainable travel options.
This contrasts with HAL’s scheme that would require major reconfiguration of one of Europe's busiest motorway stretches, affecting c.210,000 vehicles daily while impeding future M25 capacity increases – a critical limitation as traffic demands continue to grow.
Surinder Arora, Founder and Chairman, Arora Group andDirector, Heathrow West Limited commented: “We are delighted to have an opportunity to provide more details about our proposed Heathrow West scheme to the Government, directly helping to deliver their objective to unlock growth and to give businesses and passengers the globally competitive airport they deserve at Heathrow.
“This is a once in a generation moment to finally deliver the expanded Heathrow that many in the airline and airport community have called for. As set out by the Secretary of State, expansion cannot mean turning“the M25 into Europe’s largest car park” and Heathrow West clearly demonstrates that it doesn’t need to. We are especially delighted to also now confirm we can avoid disrupting the M4 as well as the M25 which further makes the case for our scheme when compared to the alternative.
“Now is the time for the Government to consider the two schemes and we look forward to further engagement.”
Carlton Brown, CEO, Heathrow West Limited, commented: “For too long Heathrow has blamed its “Central London location” and airline demands as a reason why the world’s most expensive airport cannot be transformed into the world’s best. We have shown that by bringing world class delivery partners together, listening to the airline community, and learning from Heathrow’s more successful peers around the world, we can deliver an alternative approach, without delay, to give this critical national infrastructure the transformation Britain deserves.”
Additional project partners include Bechtel (as technical advisor), Scott Brownrigg Architects, Doig+Smith, Air Navigation Solutions, Haskoning and NACO, bringing international experience to deliver Britain's aviation future.
-ENDS-
For more information, please contact:
FTI Consulting
Oli Winton / Ollie Pratt Tel: 0203 727 1000
Email: AroraGroup@fticonsulting.com
Notes to editor:
About The Arora Group
The Arora Group is a successful UK-focused private group of companies, which leverages synergies across its specialist property, construction, and hotel divisions to its strategic advantage. Since 1999, theGroup has built its standing through meticulously managing projects from inception to delivery and beyond. Today, it owns and manages a diverse portfolio of flag ship assets across the nation’s key business locations, partnering with some of the world’s most recognised brands to deliver consistently high service levels and sustainable growth. Locally to Heathrow, this includes the Hilton Garden Inn London, Holiday Inn Express Heathrow T4 andSofitel London Heathrow T5. Further afield, the Arora Group’s portfolio includes the Fairmont Windsor Park, InterContinental London – The O2 and Luton HooHotel, Golf & Spa.
