The government has thrown its weight behind Heathrow’s third runway expansion for the first time since Andy Burnham became Prime Minister.

John Healey told the Treasury Committee that the Andy Burnham government “was behind a third runway at Heathrow” and lamented the thicket of regulation preventing it from being approved sooner.

“Successful airports are very often an engine for economic growth in the wider area – that’s true in Manchester, it’s true in London and elsewhere,” he said, adding: “I was responsible for the National Planning Act in 2008, and that was designed for the first time to deal with Britain’s deep-seated problem of delays in infrastructure projects […] but yes it still takes too long.”

The remarks represent the government’s first formal endorsement of £49bn project since Burnham took office in July. The former Manchester mayor has so far ducked several opportunities to back the plan, and instead dismissed it as a decision “for London and Londoners”.

Burnham’s comments, made in the days leading up to September’s Labour party conference, represented a striking departure from the tack of the Starmer government, which had made the mega-project a key pillar in its growth agenda.

Separately, transport secretary Heidi Alexander said the government had moved “heaven and earth” to speed up the delivery of Heathrow’s third runway.

In a speech to an aviation summit in London, she hailed its approval of Gatwick and Luton expansions as a “shot in the arm” for the South East.

She added the “same logic applies to Heathrow”, despite the Prime Minister refusing to back the £49bn scheme since entering office.

“We’ve been clear that a third runway has the potential to unlock opportunities, jobs, investment and growth across the country,” Alexander said. “That’s why we’ve moved heaven and earth to deliver a draft Heathrow [planning blueprint] faster than anyone expected.”

Heathrow expansion in limbo ahead of key vote

Earlier this year, the government concluded a public consultation into the planning framework against which ministers would judge the applications of Heathrow airport and rival bidder Heathrow West. It is now expected to publish the final draft – known as the National Policy Statement – early next year ahead of a crucial MP vote.

Alexander also launched a fresh broadside on the organisation responsible for Britain’s struggling air traffic control system, which has been struck by two major outages this year.

The transport secretary said she was “angry” at the breakdown, which left thousands of passengers stranded and triggered a wave of cancellations and delays.

“The impact on passengers was simply unacceptable, and it would have been even worse had the airlines and airports not pulled out all the stops to clear the disruption in just a few days,” she told the Airlines 2026 conference, adding that the results of a watchdog inquiry would be published soon.

“I can assure you that I will do whatever it takes to ensure that lessons are learned,” said.