British Airways-owner CEO opposes new Heathrow runway as too expensive

LONDON (Reuters) - British Airways-owner IAG does not support the building of a new runway at London's Heathrow Airport, its chief executive said, because the costs of the project does not make sense for the airline. "We think the costs associated with the third runway are outrageous and certainly from an IAG point of view we will not be supporting it and we will not be paying for it," IAG chief executive Willie Walsh told reporters on a call on Friday. British Airways is the biggest airline at Heathrow. The airport is operating at full capacity and wants to build a third runway but faces significant political challenges to do so. An expanded airport would be partly paid for by higher charges to airlines. "We're not going to support something that increases our costs," Walsh added. (Reporting by Sarah Young, Editing by Paul Sandle)