London Heathrow Airport in the UK has commenced public consultation on ways to improve the proposed runway, which will be established to the north west of the airport.
As part of the consultation, nearly 140,000 households and businesses that are more likely to be most impacted by the proposed plans will receive booklets from Heathrow this week to share their views on the runway plan.
Individuals outside this area can also share their views online or attend local drop-in events.
The airport authorities are encouraging people to ask questions and influence the plans.
The results of this consultation will help the airport authorities to understand the views of the local residents and will be used to improve the 3,500m runway proposal before it is resubmitted to the Airports Commission in May.
Chief executive Colin Matthews said: “We believe our proposal to expand Heathrow is the right way to deliver the capacity Britain needs to connect to fast growing economies around the world.
“This consultation is to make sure we correctly understand what local people value and that we can take their views into account as we refine our proposal. The more people that tell us their views, the more successful the process will be.
“We know that opinion is divided locally about whether a third runway should go ahead or not, but everyone has an interest in making sure that if a third runway does happen it is developed in the best way possible.”
In December, the UK Airports Commission noted in an Interim Report that there is a clear case for a new runway in the South East and shortlisted three options, two of which included a third runway at Heathrow.
Heathrow Airport noted that this consultation is a continuation of its engagement with the local community which has been on-going throughout the Airports Commission process, and the results of this exercise will be shared with the Commission for its independent review.
The Commission expects the promoters of the shortlisted options to further develop their proposals during 2014 and take up detailed sustainability assessments that look at the social, economic and environmental impacts of each option.
