King's Speech: Bills put forward to unlock airport expansion and infrastructure construction

King Charles delivered his 2026 King’s Speech on Wednesday 13 May, setting out the Government’s legislative programme for the year ahead — and several of the bills look set to have a direct knock-on effect on UK drivers, airports and the wider transport network.

Opening Parliament after recess, the King told peers and MPs that the UK’s economic security depends on world-class infrastructure. To back that up, the Government has set out a package of more than 35 bills and draft bills covering aviation, roads, rail, energy and more.

Three pieces of legislation in particular caught the eye of the transport sector.

The Civil Aviation Bill is being described as the headline measure to unlock airport expansion. While the speech itself did not name specific airports, the Government has been clear in recent months that it wants to remove planning and regulatory barriers that have held back growth at major UK hubs. For drivers working airport runs — minicab, taxi and PHV — significant expansion at any of the country’s larger airports would mean more passenger movements, more pre-bookings and, longer term, more demand for ground transport.

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The Highways (Financing) Bill is aimed at speeding up major road projects, with the Lower Thames Crossing named directly in the speech. The crossing, which has been in planning for the best part of a decade, would create a new tunnelled link under the Thames east of Dartford and is intended to take pressure off the existing Dartford Crossing.

The Northern Powerhouse Rail Bill is the third strand and is aimed at delivering improved east-west rail connectivity across the North of England. The Government’s background briefing notes also reference work to modernise Manchester Piccadilly and improve links to Manchester Airport, which the briefing describes as a potential catalyst for growth in the region.

Alongside the transport-focused legislation, the speech also flagged a Railways and Passenger Benefits Bill to establish Great British Railways, bringing track and train operations under a single, more passenger-focused body.

The King also mentioned a Clean Water Bill for the water industry, an Immigration and Asylum Bill, a Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill, a Digital Access to Services Bill introducing Digital ID, and a Public Office (Accountability) Bill — the Hillsborough Law — which would bring in a duty of candour for public servants.

Industry response was mixed. Rail and infrastructure bodies broadly welcomed the focus on long-term capital projects, with several pointing out that delivery will be the real test. Other voices, particularly from sustainable transport campaigners, raised concerns about the climate impact of expanding both road and airport capacity in tandem.

For drivers, the practical takeaway is that the legislative groundwork is now in place for some big infrastructure decisions over the next twelve months — but, as with every King’s Speech, what matters is what actually makes it onto the statute book before the session ends.

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