Plans for a £33 billion expansion at the UK's busiest airport are being moved forward by the government.

The country's biggest hub, Heathrow Airport, is seeing plans to add a third runway publicly shared over the next 10 weeks.

The blueprint, which sets out conditions for the expansion, has now been published. The 10-week public consultation will allow communities, airlines and climate change campaigners to ​submit views.

The government ​said it had recently concluded its Heathrow Expansion National Policy ​Statement, before parliament scrutinises it ​and a vote is held. The HENPS is the initial stage in the process towards securing planning permission for a third runway.

It described the expansion of the airport as "critical to national growth" and hopes for the new runway to open in 2035.

Two proposals to expand Heathrow have previously been presented to the government; the airport's owners, Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL), wish to build a full-length, 3,500-metre runway, which would require the M25 motorway being moved.

This scheme is estimated to cost £33bn, including £1.5bn to move the M25, which is expected to be fully privately financed.

Heathrow is Europe's busiest airport, and it currently operates at full capacity.

This expansion would increase capacity would therefore increase to 756,000 flights and 150 million passengers per year.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said she is determined to get "spades in the ground" for the third runway, and for its completion to be by 2035.

She also claimed Heathrow was currently "not punching its weight", and argued that Heathrow was "the perfect example of the problem in the UK in being able to get stuff done", with people knowing "for years, decades" that a third runway has been in demand but failed to come through.

Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye said he "strongly welcomed the government has taken this next critical step".

He added: "The UK cannot realise its full economic potential without an expanded Heathrow and this is an important step towards delivering the capacity the country needs.

"We will now focus on securing planning permission and delivering this vital project."