Heathrow is planning to build a third runway — a project that has lingered on the drawing board since the early 2000s. The material released by the airport so far is low-resolution and fails to convey the scale or impact of the proposal. There is little to show Londoners what this expansion would really mean for the city.
In response, we have created The Third Runway. At first glance it’s a simple project, but its depth reveals itself as you explore. It presents a detailed 3D model of the proposed runway and terminal area superimposed on London, allowing you to move around the map and examine the super-imposed flight path both of the new runway and existing ones These routes have been recreated as accurately as possible using available data, giving Londoners a clear, tangible way to measure how the expansion could affect them. You can explore the impact by runway or from a particular location.
You can explore how aircraft noise spreads across London and the South East. This interactive map visualises the impact of Heathrow’s existing runways and the proposed third runway. View by runway or by location. Filter by aircraft size, switch to live mode, and see predicted noise levels at neighbourhood scale.
The project is still in active development and will continue to evolve as Heathrow releases more information about the potential expansion. This is the only project that attempt to accurately model the impact of the new airport on London and its surrounding area.
