London | Heathrow Airport has two runways, four terminals, 115 gates, 1300 flights a day, and 80 million passengers a year. It sits on land that is four times the size of Sydney’s CBD and twice the size of Melbourne’s. But apparently it’s still not big enough.

For decades, the much-maligned airport – famous among Australians for its sometimes epic immigration queues – has been urging the government to approve its plans for a third runway and a new terminal. But politicians have always been wary.