Heathrow’s plans for a third runway are still aiming for a 2028/29 opening as the airport announces an eight-week consultation to run this summer. Heathrow Airport bosses have reiterated their intention to open the London hub’s third runway before the end of the decade. An expansion at Heathrow was approved by the UK Government as the preferred option to increase the UK’s air capacity in 2015. Last month, the airport announced its plans to submit a planning application by the end of the year with a view to opening the third runway in 2028 or 2029. Now an eight-week consultation has been scheduled for this summer to allow local communities to review the expansion proposal and offer feedback. The latest consultation comes as a result of a decision by the Civil Aviation Authority to cap early spending on the project, which led to a “refreshed modelling of key aspects of the plan”. According to the latest timeline the consultation will run from April through to June, with a planning application set to be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate towards the end of the year. If the plan is approved by the Secretary of State, the runway will aim to be operational by late 2029 at the latest.