Heathrow Airport

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
"Heathrow" and "LHR" redirect here. For other uses, see Heathrow (disambiguation) and LHR (disambiguation).
Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Logo 2013.svg
London - Heathrow (LHR - EGLL) AN1572653.jpg
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Heathrow Airport Holdings
Operator Heathrow Airport Limited
Serves London, United Kingdom
Location London Borough of Hillingdon
Hub for British Airways
Elevation AMSL 83 ft / 25 m
Coordinates 51°28′39″N 000°27′41″W / 51.47750°N 0.46139°W / 51.47750; -0.46139Coordinates: 51°28′39″N 000°27′41″W / 51.47750°N 0.46139°W / 51.47750; -0.46139
Website www.heathrow.com
Map
LHR is located in Greater London
LHR
LHR
LHR is located in the United Kingdom
LHR
LHR
LHR is located in Europe
LHR
LHR
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
09L/27R 3,902 12,802 Grooved asphalt
09R/27L 3,660 12,008 Grooved asphalt
Statistics (2017)
Passengers 78,047,278
Passenger change 16-17 Increase3.1%
Aircraft movements 475,783
Movements change 16-17 Increase0.2%
Sources:
Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority[1]

Heathrow Airport (also known as London Heathrow)[2] (IATA: LHR, ICAO: EGLL) is a major international airport in London, United Kingdom. Heathrow is the second busiest airport in the world (by international passenger traffic), as well as the busiest airport in Europe by passenger traffic, and the seventh busiest airport in the world by total passenger traffic. It is one of six international airports serving Greater London; in 2017, it handled a record 78.0 million passengers, a 3.1% increase from 2016.[1]

Heathrow lies 14 miles (23 km) west of Central London,[3] and has two parallel east–west runways along with four operational terminals on a site that covers 12.27 square kilometres (4.74 sq mi). The airport is owned and operated by Heathrow Airport Holdings, which itself is owned by FGP TopCo Limited, an international consortium led by Ferrovial that also includes Qatar Holding LLC, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, GIC Private Limited, Alinda Capital Partners, China Investment Corporation and Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS).[4] London Heathrow is the primary hub for British Airways and the primary operating base for Virgin Atlantic.

In September 2012, the UK government established the Airports Commission, an independent commission chaired by Sir Howard Davies to examine various options for increasing capacity at UK airports. In July 2015, the commission backed a third runway at Heathrow, which the government approved in October 2016.[5][6][7]

Location[edit]

A Qantas Boeing 747-400 on approach to London Heathrow 27L runway.[8]

Heathrow is 14 mi (23 km) west of central London,[3] near the south end of the London Borough of Hillingdon on a parcel of land that is designated part of the Metropolitan Green Belt. The airport is surrounded by the villages of Harlington, Harmondsworth, Longford and Cranford to the north and by Hounslow and Hatton to the east. To the south lie Bedfont and Stanwell while to the west Heathrow is separated from Slough in Berkshire by the M25 motorway. Heathrow falls entirely under the Twickenham postcode area, with the postcode TW6.

As the airport is located west of London and as its runways run east–west, an airliner's landing approach is usually directly over the conurbation of London when the wind is from the west, which is most of the time.

Along with Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Southend and London City, Heathrow is one of six airports with scheduled services serving the London area, although only Heathrow and London City are within Greater London.

History[edit]

Aerial photo of Heathrow Airport from the 1950s, before the terminals were built
For a chronicled history of Heathrow Airport, see History of Heathrow Airport.

Heathrow Airport originated in 1929 as a small airfield (Great West Aerodrome) on land south-east of the hamlet of Heathrow from which the airport takes its name, at that time there were farms, market gardens and orchards there: there was a "Heathrow Farm" about where Terminal 1 is now, a "Heathrow Hall" and a "Heathrow House". This hamlet was largely along a country lane (Heathrow Road) which ran roughly along the east and south edges of the present central terminals area.

Development of the whole Heathrow area as a very much larger airport began in 1944: it was stated to be for long-distance military aircraft bound for the Far East, but by the time the airfield was nearing completion, World War II had ended. The government continued to develop the airport as a civil airport; it opened as London Airport in 1946 and was renamed Heathrow Airport in 1966. The masterplan[clarification needed] for the airport was designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd, who designed the original terminals and central area buildings, including the original control tower and the multi-faith chapel of St George's.

Operations[edit]

Facilities[edit]

Central waiting area in Terminal 5
Concorde G-BOAB in storage at Heathrow
Four aircraft on the approach to Heathrow runway 09L
Heathrow's control tower
British Airways aircraft at Terminal 5C

Heathrow Airport is used by over 80 airlines flying to 185 destinations in 84 countries, the airport is the primary hub of British Airways and is a base for Virgin Atlantic. It has four passenger terminals (numbered 2 to 5) and a cargo terminal. Of Heathrow's 73.4 million passengers in 2014, 93% were international travellers; the remaining 7% were bound for (or arriving from) places in the UK.[9] The busiest single destination in passenger numbers is New York, with over 3 million passengers flying between Heathrow and JFK Airport in 2013.[10]

In the 1950s, Heathrow had six runways, arranged in three pairs at different angles in the shape of a hexagram (✡) with the permanent passenger terminal in the middle and the older terminal along the north edge of the field; two of its runways would always be within 30° of the wind direction. As the required length for runways has grown, Heathrow now has only two parallel runways running east–west, these are extended versions of the two east–west runways from the original hexagram. From the air, almost all of the original runways can still be seen, incorporated into the present system of taxiways. North of the northern runway and the former taxiway and aprons, now the site of extensive car parks, is the entrance to the access tunnel and the site of Heathrow's unofficial "gate guardian", for many years the home of a 40% scale model of a British Airways Concorde, G-CONC, the site has been occupied by a model of an Emirates Airbus A380 since 2008.[11]

Heathrow Airport has Anglican, Catholic, Free Church, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh chaplains. There is a multi-faith prayer room and counselling room in each terminal, in addition to St. George's Interdenominational Chapel in an underground vault adjacent to the old control tower, where Christian services take place. The chaplains organize and lead prayers at certain times in the prayer room.[12]

The airport has its own resident press corps, consisting of six photographers and one TV crew, serving all the major newspapers and television stations around the world.[13]

Most of Heathrow's internal roads are initial letter coded by area: N in the north (e.g. Newall Road), E in the east (e.g. Elmdon Road), S in the south (e.g. Stratford Road), W in the west (e.g. Walrus Road), C in the centre (e.g. Camborne Road).

Flight movements[edit]

Aircraft destined for Heathrow are usually routed over one of four main reporting points: Bovingdon (BNN) in Hertfordshire, Lambourne (LAM) in Essex, Biggin Hill (BIG) in Bromley and Ockham (OCK) in Surrey.[14] Each is defined by a VOR radio-navigational beacon. When the airport is busy, aircraft orbit in the associated hold patterns, these holding areas lie to the northwest, northeast, southeast and southwest of the London conurbation. Aircraft hold between 7,000 feet and 15,000 feet at 1,000 foot intervals. If these holds become full, aircraft are held at more distant points before being cleared onward to one of the four main holds.

Air traffic controllers at Heathrow Approach Control (based in Swanwick, Hampshire) then guide the aircraft to their final approach, merging aircraft from the four holds into a single stream of traffic, sometimes as close as 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km; 2.9 mi) apart. Considerable use is made of continuous descent approach techniques to minimize the environmental effects of incoming aircraft, particularly at night.[15] Once an aircraft is established on its final approach, control is handed over to Heathrow Tower.

When runway alternation was introduced, aircraft generated significantly more noise on departure than when landing, so a preference for westerly operations during daylight was introduced, which continues to this day;[16] in this mode, aircraft depart towards the west and approach from the east over London, thereby minimizing the impact of noise on the most densely populated areas. Heathrow's two runways generally operate in segregated mode, whereby arriving aircraft are allocated to one runway and departing aircraft to the other. To further reduce noise nuisance to people beneath the approach and departure routes, the use of runways 27R and 27L is swapped at 15:00 each day if the wind is from the west. When landings are easterly there is no alternation; 09L remains the landing runway and 09R the departure runway due to the legacy of the now rescinded Cranford Agreement, pending taxiway works to allow the roles to be reversed. Occasionally, landings are allowed on the nominated departure runway, to help reduce airborne delays and to position landing aircraft closer to their terminal, reducing taxi times.

Night-time flights at Heathrow are subject to restrictions. Between 23:00 and 04:00, the noisiest aircraft (rated QC/8 and QC/16) cannot be scheduled for operation; in addition, during the night quota period (23:30–06:00) there are four limits:

  • A limit on the number of flights allowed;
  • A Quota Count system which limits the total amount of noise permitted, but allows operators to choose to operate fewer noisy aircraft or a greater number of quieter planes;[17]
  • QC/4 aircraft cannot be scheduled for operation.
  • A voluntary agreement with the airlines that no early morning arrivals will be scheduled to land before 04:30.

A trial of "noise relief zones" ran from December 2012 to March 2013, which concentrated approach flight paths into defined areas compared with the existing paths which were spread out, the zones used alternated weekly, meaning residents in the "no-fly" areas received respite from aircraft noise for set periods.[18] However, it was concluded that some residents in other areas experienced a significant disbenefit as a result of the trial and that it should therefore not be taken forward in its current form. Heathrow received more than 25,000 noise complaints in just three months over the summer of 2016, but around half were made by the same ten people.[19]

Regulation[edit]

Further information: Landing slot

Until it was required to sell Gatwick and Stansted Airports, Heathrow Airport Holdings held a dominant position in the London aviation market, and has been heavily regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as to how much it can charge airlines to land, the annual increase in landing charge per passenger was capped at inflation minus 3% until 1 April 2003. From 2003 to 2007 charges increased by inflation plus 6.5% per year, taking the fee to £9.28 per passenger in 2007. In March 2008, the CAA announced that the charge would be allowed to increase by 23.5% to £12.80 from 1 April 2008 and by inflation plus 7.5% for each of the following four years.[20] In April 2013, the CAA announced a proposal for Heathrow to charge fees calculated by inflation minus 1.3%, continuing until 2019.[21] Whilst the cost of landing at Heathrow is determined by the CAA and Heathrow Airport Holdings, the allocation of landing slots to airlines is carried out by Airport Co-ordination Limited (ACL).[22]

Until 2008, air traffic between Heathrow and the United States was strictly governed by the countries' bilateral Bermuda II treaty, the treaty originally allowed only British Airways, Pan Am and TWA to fly from Heathrow to the US. In 1991, PAA and TWA sold their rights to United Airlines and American Airlines respectively, while Virgin Atlantic was added to the list of airlines allowed to operate on these routes, the Bermuda bilateral agreement conflicted with the Right of Establishment of the United Kingdom in relation to its EU membership, and as a consequence the UK was ordered to drop the agreement in 2004. A new "open skies" agreement was signed by the United States and the European Union on 30 April 2007 and came into effect on 30 March 2008. Shortly afterwards, additional US airlines, including Northwest Airlines, Continental Airlines, US Airways and Delta Air Lines started services to Heathrow.

The airport has been criticized in recent years for overcrowding and delays;[23] according to Heathrow Airport Holdings, Heathrow's facilities were originally designed to accommodate 55 million passengers annually. The number of passengers using the airport reached a record 70 million in 2012;[24] in 2007 the airport was voted the world's least favorite, alongside Chicago O'Hare, in a TripAdvisor survey.[25] However, the opening of Terminal 5 in 2008 has relieved some pressure on terminal facilities, increasing the airport's terminal capacity to 90 million passengers per year. A tie-up is also in place with McLaren Applied Technologies to optimize the general procedure, reducing delays and pollution.[26]

With only two runways, operating at over 98% of their capacity, Heathrow has little room for more flights, although the increasing use of larger aircraft such as the Airbus A380 will allow some increase in passenger numbers, it is difficult for existing airlines to obtain landing slots to enable them to increase their services from the airport, or for new airlines to start operations.[27] To increase the number of flights, Heathrow Airport Holdings has proposed using the existing two runways in 'mixed mode' whereby aircraft would be allowed to take off and land on the same runway, this would increase the airport's capacity from its current 480,000 movements per year to as many as 550,000 according to British Airways CEO Willie Walsh.[28] Heathrow Airport Holdings has also proposed building a third runway to the north of the airport, which would significantly increase traffic capacity (see Future expansion below).[29]

Security[edit]

Policing of the airport is the responsibility of the aviation security unit of the Metropolitan Police, although the army, including armored vehicles of the Household Cavalry, has occasionally been deployed at the airport during periods of heightened security.

Full body scanners are now used at the airport, and passengers who object to their use after being selected are required to submit to a hand search in a private room.[30] The scanners display passengers' bodies as a cartoon-style figure, with indicators showing where concealed items may be,[30] the new imagery was introduced initially as a trial in September 2011 following complaints over privacy.[31]

Terminals[edit]

The airport has 4 terminals. Terminal 2, the newest terminal formerly served Virgin Atlantic Little Red and now houses Star Alliance members along with Aer Lingus, Eurowings, the new Flybe, and Icelandair. Terminal 3 houses Oneworld and some SkyTeam members, Virgin Atlantic, Delta Air Lines, Garuda Indonesia, Middle East Airlines, and few other unaffiliated members with the exception of Iberia, Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways. Beijing Capital Airlines, the newest airline also operates from Terminal 3. Terminal 4 serves SkyTeam, Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways, and most unaffiliated members. Terminal 5 houses the International Airlines Group-British Airways and Iberia.

Terminal 1 (Closed)[edit]

Main article: Heathrow Terminal 1

Terminal 1 opened in 1968 and was inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II in April 1969,[32][33] before Terminal 5 opened, Terminal 1 was the Heathrow base for British Airways' (BA) domestic and European network and for a few of its long haul routes. The acquisition of British Midland International (BMI) in 2012 by BA's owner International Airlines Group meant British Airways took over BMI's short-haul and medium-haul destinations from the terminal.[34] Terminal 1 was also the main base for most Star Alliance members, some Star Alliance members were also based at Terminal 3.

Terminal 1 closed at the end of June 2015, its site is being used for an extension to Terminal 2,[35] which opened in June 2014. A number of newer boarding gates used by Terminal 1 had been built as part of the Terminal 2 development and are being retained as part of Terminal 2,[36][37] the last tenants along with British Airways were El Al, Icelandair, the one who moved to Terminal 2 on 25 March 2015, and LATAM Brasil, the third one to move in to Terminal 3 on 27 May, 2015. British Airways was the last operator in Terminal 1. Two flights of this carrier, one departing to Hannover and one arriving from Baku, marked the terminal closure on 29 June 2015. British Airways operations have been relocated to Terminals 3 and 5.[38]

Terminal 2[edit]

Terminal 2 central departures area
Main article: Heathrow Terminal 2

The airport's newest terminal, officially known as the Queen's Terminal, was opened on 4 June 2014.[39][40] Designed by Spanish architect Luis Vidal, it was built on the site that had been occupied by the original Terminal 2 and the Queens Building,[41][42] the main complex was completed in November 2013 and underwent six months of testing before opening to passengers. It includes a satellite pier (T2B), a 1,340-space car park, an energy center[clarification needed] and a cooling station to generate chilled water. There are 52 shops and 17 bars and restaurants.[43]

Terminal 2 is used by all Star Alliance members which fly from Heathrow (consolidating the airlines under Star Alliance's co-location policy "Move Under One Roof"). Aer Lingus, Eurowings, Flybe and Icelandair also operate from the terminal. Tianjin Airlines is a possible new member at Terminal 2. The airlines moved from their original locations over a six-month period, with only 10% of flights operating from there in the first six weeks (United Airlines' transatlantic flights) to avoid the opening problems seen at Terminal 5, on 4 June 2014, United Airlines became the first airline to move into Terminal 2 from Terminals 1 and 4 followed by All Nippon Airways, Air Canada and Air China from Terminal 3. Air New Zealand, Asiana Airlines,Croatia Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, South African Airways, and TAP Portugal were the last airlines to move in on 22 October 2014 from Terminal 1.[44] Development will continue at the terminal to increase capacity in preparation for the closure of Terminal 3 in 2019.[45]

The original Terminal 2 opened as the Europa Building in 1955 and was the airport's oldest terminal, it had an area of 49,654 m2 (534,470 sq ft) and was designed to handle around 1.2 million passengers annually. In its final years it accommodated up to 8 million. A total of 316 million passengers passed through the terminal in its lifetime, the building was demolished in 2010, along with the Queens Building which had housed airline company offices.[46]

Terminal 3[edit]

Terminal 3 bird's-eye view
Main article: Heathrow Terminal 3

Terminal 3 opened as the Oceanic Terminal on 13 November 1961 to handle flight departures for long-haul routes for foreign carriers to the United States, Asia and other Far Eastern destinations,[47] at this time the airport had a direct helicopter service to Central London from the gardens on the roof of the terminal building. Renamed Terminal 3 in 1968, it was expanded in 1970 with the addition of an arrivals building. Other facilities added included the UK's first moving walkways; in 2006, the new £105 million Pier 6 was completed[48] to accommodate the Airbus A380 superjumbo; Emirates and Qantas operate regular flights from Terminal 3 using the Airbus A380.

Redevelopment of Terminal 3's forecourt by the addition of a new four-lane drop-off area and a large pedestrianised plaza, complete with canopy to the front of the terminal building, was completed in 2007, these improvements were intended to improve passengers' experience, reduce traffic congestion and improve security.[49] As part of this project, Virgin Atlantic was assigned its own dedicated check-in area, known as 'Zone A', which features a large sculpture and atrium.

As of 2013, Terminal 3 has an area of 98,962 m2 (1,065,220 sq ft) and in 2011 it handled 19.8 million passengers on 104,100 flights.[50] Terminal 3 is home to Oneworld members with the exception of Iberia, which uses Terminal 5, Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways which use Terminal 4, SkyTeam members Delta Air Lines, Garuda Indonesia, Middle East Airlines, all new airlines and a few unaffiliated carriers.

Terminal 4[edit]

Terminal 4 bird's-eye view
Main article: Heathrow Terminal 4

Opened in 1986, Terminal 4 is situated to the south of the southern runway next to the cargo terminal and is connected to Terminals 2 and 3 by the Heathrow Cargo Tunnel, the terminal has an area of 105,481 m2 (1,135,390 sq ft) and is now home to the SkyTeam alliance, with the exception of Garuda Indonesia, Delta Air Lines, and Middle East Airlines, which use Terminal 3, Oneworld carriers Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways, and to most unaffiliated carriers. It has undergone a £200m upgrade to enable it to accommodate 45 airlines with an upgraded forecourt to reduce traffic congestion and improve security. Most flights that go to Terminal 4 are flights coming from Asia and North Africa, as well as a few flights to Europe. An extended check-in area with renovated piers and departure lounges and a new baggage system were installed, and two new stands were built to accommodate the Airbus A380; Etihad Airways, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways operate regular A380 flights.[51]

Terminal 5[edit]

Terminal 5 bird's-eye view
Main article: Heathrow Terminal 5

Terminal 5 lies between the northern and southern runways at the western end of the Heathrow site and was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 14 March 2008,[52] some 19 years after its inception, it opened to the public on 27 March 2008, and British Airways and its partner company Iberia have exclusive use of this terminal. The first passenger to enter Terminal 5 was a UK ex-pat from Kenya who passed through security at 04:30 on the day, he was presented with a boarding pass by the British Airways CEO Willie Walsh for the first departing flight, BA302 to Paris. During the two weeks after its opening, operations were disrupted by problems with the terminal's IT systems, coupled with insufficient testing and staff training, which caused over 500 flights to be cancelled,[53] until March 2012, Terminal 5 was exclusively used by British Airways as its global hub; however, because of the merger, on 25 March Iberia's operations at Heathrow were moved to the terminal, making it the home of International Airlines Group.[54]

Built at a cost of £4.3 billion, the terminal consists of a four-story main terminal building (Concourse A) and two satellite buildings linked to the main terminal by an underground people mover transit system. The second satellite (Concourse C), includes dedicated aircraft stands for the Airbus A380, it became fully operational on 1 June 2011. Terminal 5 was voted Skytrax World's Best Airport Terminal 2014 in the Annual World Airport Awards.[55]

The main terminal building (Concourse A) has an area of 300,000 square metres (3,200,000 sq ft) while Concourse B covers 60,000 square metres (650,000 sq ft).[56] It has 60 aircraft stands and capacity for 30 million passengers annually as well as more than 100 shops and restaurants.[57]

A further building, designated Concourse D and of similar size to Concourse C, may yet be built to the east of the existing site, providing up to another 16 stands. Following British Airways' merger with Iberia, this may become a priority since the combined business will require accommodation at Heathrow under one roof to maximise the cost savings envisaged under the deal. A proposal for Concourse D featured in Heathrow's most recent capital investment plan.

The transport network around the airport has been extended to cope with the increase in passenger numbers. A dedicated motorway spur links the terminal to the M25 (between junctions 14 and 15), the terminal has a 3,800 space multi-story car park. A more distant long-stay car park for business passengers is connected to the terminal by a personal rapid transit system, which became operational in the spring of 2011.[58] New branches of both the Heathrow Express and the Underground's Piccadilly line serve a new shared Heathrow Terminal 5 station.

Terminal assignments[edit]

As of March 2017, Heathrow's four passenger terminals are assigned as follows:[59]

Terminal Airlines and alliances
Terminal 2 Star Alliance, Aer Lingus, Eurowings, Flybe and Icelandair
Terminal 3 Oneworld (except Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, Iberia and most British Airways destinations), Delta Air Lines, Garuda Indonesia, Middle East Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and several non-aligned airlines
Terminal 4 SkyTeam (except Delta Air Lines, Garuda Indonesia and Middle East Airlines), Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways and most non-aligned airlines
Terminal 5 British Airways (most destinations, except those at Terminal 3) and Iberia

Following the opening of Terminal 5 in March 2008, a hugely complex programme of terminal moves was implemented, this saw many airlines move so as to be grouped in terminals by airline alliance as far as possible.[60]

Following the opening of Phase 1 of the new Terminal 2 in June 2014, all Star Alliance member airlines[61] (with the exception of new member Air India which moved in early 2017) along with Aer Lingus and Germanwings relocated to Terminal 2 in a phased process completed on 22 October 2014. Additionally, by 30 June 2015 all airlines left Terminal 1 in preparation for its demolition to make room for the construction of Phrase 2 of Terminal 2.[62] Terminal 3 is also planned to be demolished in 2019 when Phrase 2 of Terminal 2 is complete.

Some other airlines made further minor moves at a later point, e.g. Air India moving from Terminal 4 to the other Star Alliance carriers in Terminal 2[63] or Delta Air Lines merging all departures in Terminal 3 instead of a split between Terminals 3 and 4.[64]

Airlines and destinations[edit]

Passenger[edit]

The following airlines operate regular scheduled passenger flights at London Heathrow Airport:[65]

Airlines Destinations
Aegean Airlines Athens
Aer Lingus Belfast–City, Cork, Dublin, Shannon
Aeroflot Moscow–Sheremetyevo
Aeroméxico Mexico City
Air Algérie Algiers
Air Astana Astana
Air Canada Calgary, Halifax, Montréal–Trudeau, Ottawa, St. John's, Toronto–Pearson, Vancouver
Air China Beijing–Capital
Air France Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Air India Ahmedabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Newark
Air Malta Malta
Air Mauritius Mauritius
Air New Zealand Auckland, Los Angeles
Air Serbia Belgrade
Alitalia Milan–Linate, Rome–Fiumicino
All Nippon Airways Tokyo–Haneda
American Airlines Charlotte, Chicago–O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York–JFK, Philadelphia, Raleigh/Durham
Asiana Airlines Seoul–Incheon
Austrian Airlines Vienna
Avianca Bogotá
Azerbaijan Airlines Baku
Beijing Capital Airlines Qingdao
Biman Bangladesh Airlines Dhaka[a]
British Airways Aberdeen, Abu Dhabi, Abuja, Accra, Amman–Queen Alia, Amsterdam, Athens, Atlanta, Austin, Bahrain, Baltimore, Bangalore, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Barcelona, Basel/Mulhouse/Freiburg, Beijing–Capital, Beirut, Belfast–City, Berlin–Tegel, Bilbao, Billund, Bologna, Boston, Brussels, Bucharest–Otopeni, Budapest, Buenos Aires–Ezeiza, Cairo, Calgary, Cape Town, Chennai, Chicago–O'Hare, Copenhagen, Dallas/Fort Worth, Delhi, Denver, Doha (resumes 30 June 2018),[66] Dubai–International, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Edinburgh, Frankfurt, Geneva, Gibraltar, Glasgow-International, Gothenburg, Gran Canaria, Grand Cayman, Hamburg, Hanover, Helsinki, Hong Kong, Houston–Intercontinental, Hyderabad, Innsbruck, Inverness, Istanbul–Atatürk, Jeddah, Johannesburg–OR Tambo, Kiev–Boryspil, Kraków, Kuala Lumpur–International, Kuwait City, Lagos, Larnaca, Las Vegas, Leeds/Bradford, Lisbon, Los Angeles, Luanda, Luxembourg, Lyon, Madrid, Mahé, Málaga, Manchester, Marseille, Mexico City, Miami, Milan–Linate, Milan–Malpensa, Montreal–Trudeau, Moscow–Domodedovo, Mumbai, Munich, Muscat, Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta, Nashville (begins 4 May 2018),[67] Nassau, New Orleans, New York–JFK, Newark, Newcastle upon Tyne, Nice, Oslo–Gardermoen, Palermo, Palma de Mallorca, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Philadelphia, Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Pisa, Prague, Reykjavík–Keflavík, Rio de Janeiro–Galeão, Riyadh, Rome–Fiumicino, Saint Petersburg, San Diego, San Francisco, San José (CA), Santiago de Chile, São Paulo–Guarulhos, Seattle/Tacoma, Seoul–Incheon, Shanghai–Pudong, Singapore, Sofia, Stockholm–Arlanda, Stuttgart, Sydney, Tallinn, Tehran–Imam Khomeini, Tel Aviv–Ben Gurion, Tenerife-South, Tokyo–Haneda, Tokyo–Narita, Toronto–Pearson, Toulouse, Vancouver, Venice, Vienna, Warsaw–Chopin, Washington–Dulles, Zagreb, Zürich
Seasonal: Almeria, Brindisi, Chania, Corfu, Faro, Figari (begins 27 May 2018),[68] Ibiza, Grenoble, Kefalonia (begins 15 May 2018),[69] Kalamata, Menorca, Murcia, Mykonos, Nantes, Olbia, Pula, Salzburg, Santorini, Split, Turin, Zakynthos
Brussels Airlines Brussels
Bulgaria Air Sofia
Cathay Pacific Hong Kong
China Eastern Airlines Shanghai–Pudong
China Southern Airlines Guangzhou, Wuhan (begins 30 May 2018)[70]
Cobalt Air Larnaca[71]
Croatia Airlines Zagreb
Seasonal: Split
Delta Air Lines Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York–JFK, Philadelphia (ends 3 May 2018)[72]
Seasonal: Portland (OR), Salt Lake City
EgyptAir Cairo
Seasonal: Luxor
El Al Tel Aviv–Ben Gurion
Emirates Dubai–International
Ethiopian Airlines Addis Ababa
Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi
EVA Air Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Taipei–Taoyuan
Eurowings Berlin-Tegel, Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Salzburg, Stuttgart
Finnair Helsinki
Flybe Aberdeen, Edinburgh
Garuda Indonesia Jakarta–Soekarno–Hatta
Gulf Air Bahrain
Hainan Airlines Changsha[73]
Iberia Madrid
Iberia Express Asturias, Gran Canaria, Palma de Mallorca
Icelandair Reykjavík–Keflavík
Iran Air Tehran–Imam Khomeini
Japan Airlines Tokyo–Haneda
Jet Airways Delhi, Mumbai
Kenya Airways Nairobi–Kenyatta
KLM Amsterdam
Korean Air Seoul–Incheon
Kuwait Airways Kuwait City
LATAM Brasil São Paulo–Guarulhos
LOT Polish Airlines Warsaw–Chopin
Lufthansa Frankfurt, Munich
Malaysia Airlines Kuala Lumpur–International
Middle East Airlines Beirut
Oman Air Muscat
Pakistan International Airlines Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore
Philippine Airlines Manila
Qantas Melbourne, Perth,[74] Singapore,[75] Sydney
Qatar Airways Doha
Royal Air Maroc Casablanca, Rabat
Royal Brunei Airlines Bandar Seri Begawan, Dubai–International
Royal Jordanian Amman–Queen Alia
Saudia Jeddah, Riyadh
Seasonal: Medina
Scandinavian Airlines Copenhagen, Oslo–Gardermoen, Stavanger, Stockholm–Arlanda
Singapore Airlines Singapore
South African Airways Johannesburg–OR Tambo
SriLankan Airlines Colombo
Swiss International Air Lines Geneva, Zürich
Seasonal: Sion
TAP Air Portugal Lisbon
TAROM Bucharest–Otopeni
Thai Airways Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi
Tianjin Airlines Tianjin, Xi'an (both begin 7 May 2018)[76]
Tunisair Tunis
Turkish Airlines Istanbul–Atatürk
Turkmenistan Airlines Ashgabat
United Airlines Chicago–O'Hare, Houston–Intercontinental, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco, Washington–Dulles
Seasonal: Denver
Uzbekistan Airways Tashkent
Vietnam Airlines Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City
Virgin Atlantic Atlanta, Boston, Delhi, Dubai–International, Hong Kong, Johannesburg–OR Tambo, Lagos, Los Angeles, Miami, New York–JFK, Newark, San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma, Shanghai–Pudong, Washington–Dulles
Seasonal: Barbados
Vueling A Coruña, Barcelona

Cargo[edit]

Airlines Destinations
AirBridgeCargo Airlines Frankfurt–Hahn, Moscow–Sheremetyevo
Cathay Pacific Cargo Delhi, Hong Kong, Milan–Malpensa, Mumbai, Paris–Charles de Gaulle
DHL Aviation Amsterdam, Brussels, Cincinnati, East Midlands, Frankfurt, Leipzig/Halle, Luton, Madrid–Barajas, Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Emirates SkyCargo Dubai–Al Maktoum
Ethiopian Airlines Cargo Addis Ababa, Lagos
Korean Air Cargo Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Seoul–Incheon
Qatar Airways Cargo Basel, Doha[77]
Royal Air Maroc Cargo Casablanca
Royal Jordanian Cargo Amman–Queen Alia
Singapore Airlines Cargo Sharjah, Singapore

Traffic and statistics[edit]

Overview[edit]

Development of passenger numbers, aircraft movements and air freight between 1986 and 2014

When ranked by passenger traffic, Heathrow is the sixth busiest internationally, behind Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Beijing Capital International Airport, Dubai International Airport, Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and Tokyo Haneda Airport, for the 12 months ending December 2015.[78]

In 2015, Heathrow was the busiest airport in Europe in total passenger traffic, with 14% more passengers than Paris–Charles de Gaulle Airport[79] and 22% more than Istanbul Atatürk Airport.[80] Heathrow was the fourth busiest European airport by cargo traffic in 2013, after Frankfurt Airport, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.[81]

Annual traffic statistics[edit]

Traffic statistics at Heathrow[1]
Year
Passengers
handled[b]
Passenger
% Change
Cargo
(tonnes)
Cargo
% Change
Aircraft
movements
Aircraft
% Change
1986 31,675,779 Steady 537,131 Steady 315,753 Steady
1987 35,079,755 Increase10.7 574,116 Increase6.9 329,977 Increase 4.3
1988 37,840,503 Increase7.9 642,147 Increase11.8 351,592 Increase 6.1
1989 39,881,922 Increase5.4 686,170 Increase6.9 368,429 Increase 4.6
1990 42,950,512 Increase7.7 695,347 Increase1.3 390,372 Increase 5.6
1991 40,494,575 Decrease5.7 654,625 Decrease5.9 381,724 Decrease 2.3
1992 45,242,591 Increase11.7 754,770 Increase15.3 406,481 Increase 6.1
1993 47,899,081 Increase5.9 846,486 Increase12.2 411,173 Increase 1.1
1994 51,713,366 Increase8.0 962,738 Increase13.7 424,557 Increase 3.2
1995 54,461,597 Increase5.3 1,031,639 Increase7.2 434,525 Increase 2.3
1996 56,049,706 Increase2.9 1,040,486 Increase0.9 440,343 Increase 1.3
1997 58,185,398 Increase3.8 1,156,104 Increase11.1 440,631 Increase 0.1
1998 60,683,988 Increase4.3 1,208,893 Increase4.6 451,382 Increase 2.4
1999 62,268,292 Increase2.6 1,265,495 Increase4.7 458,300 Increase 1.5
2000 64,618,254 Increase3.8 1,306,905 Increase3.3 466,799 Increase 1.8
2001 60,764,924 Decrease6.0 1,180,306 Decrease9.6 463,567 Decrease 0.7
2002 63,362,097 Increase4.3 1,234,940 Increase4.6 466,545 Increase 0.6
2003 63,495,367 Increase0.2 1,223,439 Decrease0.9 463,650 Decrease 0.6
2004 67,342,743 Increase6.1 1,325,173 Increase8.3 476,001 Increase 2.6
2005 67,913,153 Increase0.8 1,305,686 Decrease1.5 477,887 Increase 0.4
2006 67,527,923 Decrease0.6 1,264,129 Decrease3.2 477,048 Decrease 0.2
2007 68,066,028 Increase0.8 1,310,987 Increase3.7 481,476 Increase 0.9
2008 67,054,745 Decrease1.5 1,397,054 Increase6.6 478,693 Decrease 0.6
2009 66,036,957 Decrease1.5 1,277,650 Decrease8.5 466,393 Decrease 2.6
2010 65,881,660 Decrease0.2 1,472,988 Increase15.3 454,823 Decrease 2.5
2011 69,433,230 Increase5.4 1,484,351 Increase0.8 480,906 Increase 5.4
2012 70,037,417 Increase0.9 1,464,390 Decrease1.3 475,176 Decrease 1.2
2013 72,367,054 Increase3.3 1,422,939 Decrease2.8 471,936 Decrease 0.7
2014 73,405,330 Increase1.4 1,498,906 Increase5.3 472,802 Increase 0.2
2015 74,985,748 Increase2.2 1,496,551 Decrease0.2 474,087 Increase 2.7
2016 75,711,130 Increase1.0 1,541,029 Increase3.0 474,963 Increase 0.2
2017 78,047,278 Increase3.1 476,186 Increase 0.6

Busiest routes[edit]

Heathrow Airport processed 78,047,278 passengers in 2017.[1] New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport was the most popular route with 2,945,744 passengers.[82] The table below shows the 40 busiest international routes at the airport in 2017.

Busiest international routes to and from Heathrow (2017)[82]
Rank Airport Total
passengers		 Change
2016 / 17
1 United States New York–JFK 2,945,744 Increase 0.5%
2 United Arab Emirates Dubai–International 2,873,011 Increase 9.2%
3 Republic of Ireland Dublin 1,803,497 Increase 7.7%
4 Netherlands Amsterdam 1,689,924 Increase 6.5%
5 United States Los Angeles 1,600,587 Increase 8.9%
6 Hong Kong Hong Kong 1,588,805 Increase 3.2%
7 Germany Frankfurt 1,501,134 Increase 2.2%
8 Spain Madrid 1,382,478 Increase 5.4%
9 Qatar Doha 1,287,225 Increase 10.8%
10 Singapore Singapore 1,234,806 Increase 12.6%
11 France Paris–Charles de Gaulle 1,207,929 Increase 4.2%
12 Germany Munich 1,190,441 Decrease 2.7%
13 Switzerland Zürich 1,139,638 Increase 3.4%
14 United States Chicago–O'Hare 1,062,328 Decrease 1.4%
15 Switzerland Geneva 1,056,478 Increase 3.0%
16 Canada Toronto–Pearson 1,047,947 Decrease 2.8%
17 India New Delhi 1,023,509 Decrease 2.8%
18 Turkey Istanbul–Atatürk 1,021,532 Increase 2.8%
19 United States Newark 1,020,678 Increase 5.4%
20 Sweden Stockholm–Arlanda 1,013,192 Increase 2.7%
21 United States San Francisco 1,009,584 Decrease 2.9%
22 United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi 1,004,473 Increase 13.2%
23 United States Miami 985,148 Decrease 2.9%
24 Denmark Copenhagen 982,928 Increase 4.9%
25 Italy Rome–Fiumicino 976,106 Decrease 1.7%
26 India Mumbai 963,977 Increase 6.7%
27 South Africa Johannesburg–Tambo 954,716 Decrease 3.1%
28 Portugal Lisbon 865,043 Increase 7.4%
29 Thailand Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi 850,446 Increase 18.9%
30 United States Washington–Dulles 845,634 Decrease 1.4%
31 United States Boston 814,124 Increase 2.3%
32 Austria Vienna 807,858 Increase 2.0%
33 Germany Berlin–Tegel 779,203 Decrease 4.2%
34 Greece Athens 761,330 Increase 5.3%
35 Germany Düsseldorf 741,486 Increase 8.3%
36 Finland Helsinki 714,261 Increase 7.2%
37 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur 692,039 Increase 8.6%
38 Spain Barcelona 683,777 Decrease 3.8%
39 Norway Oslo–Gardermoen 679,409 Increase 1.3%
40 United States Dallas/Fort Worth 677,113 Increase 4.7%

Other facilities[edit]

The Compass Centre, the head office of Heathrow Airport Holdings

The head office of Heathrow Airport Holdings (formerly BAA Limited) is located in the Compass Centre by Heathrow's northern runway, a building that previously served as a British Airways flight crew centre,[83] the World Business Centre Heathrow consists of three buildings. 1 World Business Centre houses offices of Heathrow Airport Holdings, Heathrow Airport itself, and Scandinavian Airlines.[84] Previously International Airlines Group had its head office in 2 World Business Centre.[85][86]

At one time the British Airways head office was located within Heathrow Airport at Speedbird House[87] before the completion of Waterside, the current BA head office in Harmondsworth, in June 1998.[88]

To the north of the airfield lies the Northern Perimeter Road, along which most of Heathrow's car rental agencies are based, and Bath Road, which runs parallel to it, but outside the airport campus–this is nicknamed "The Strip" by locals owing to its continuous line of airport hotels.

Access[edit]

Public transport[edit]

Train[edit]

Heathrow Express train at Paddington station

Bus and coach[edit]

Many buses and coaches operate from the large Heathrow Central bus station serving Terminals 2 and 3, and also from bus stations at Terminals 4 and 5.

Inter-terminal transport[edit]

Terminals 2 and 3 are within walking distance of each other. Transfers to Terminal 4 and 5 are by Heathrow Express trains or bus. Heathrow Express and Heathrow Connect train services between Heathrow Central and Terminals 4 and 5 are free of charge,[91] this is also true for London Underground services when using an Oyster card. When travelling to Terminal 4, one has to change at Hatton Cross, whilst this station not being part of the actual free fare zone. Local buses throughout the airport area are provided free of charge under the "Heathrow FreeFlow" scheme;[92] passengers should tell the driver their destination to ensure they are not charged a fare.

Transit passengers remaining airside are provided with free dedicated transfer buses between terminals.

ULTra Personal Rapid Transport opened in April 2011 to shuttle passengers between Terminal 5 and the business car park at a speed of up to 40 km/h (25 mph). There are 21 small transportation pods that can each carry up to four adults, two children, and their luggage, the pods are battery-powered and run on a four-kilometre track. The capsules run on demand, the provider claims a 95% availability rate and no accidents so far.[93] Plans to use the same technology to connect Terminals 2 and 3 to remote car parks were included in the draft 2014–2019 five-year master plan but have since been deferred due to other priorities.[94]

Taxi[edit]

Taxis are available at all terminals.[95]

Car[edit]

Entrance at the southern end of the M4 Motorway spur, showing a scale model of Concorde, replaced since 2008 by the Emirates A380 scale model.[96]

Heathrow is accessible via the nearby M4 motorway or A4 road (Terminals 2–3), the M25 motorway (Terminals 4 and 5) and the A30 road (Terminal 4). There are drop-off and pick-up areas at all terminals and short-[97] and long-stay[98] multi-storey car parks. All the Heathrow forecourts are drop-off only.[99] There are further car parks, not run by Heathrow Airport Holdings, just outside the airport: the most recognisable is the National Car Parks facility, although there are many other options; these car parks are connected to the terminals by shuttle buses.

Four parallel tunnels under the northern runway connect the M4 Heathrow spur and the A4 road to Terminals 2–3, the two larger tunnels are each two lanes wide and are used for motorised traffic. The two smaller tunnels were originally reserved for pedestrians and bicycles; to increase traffic capacity the cycle lanes have been modified to each take a single lane of cars, although bicycles still have priority over cars. Pedestrian access to the smaller tunnels has been discontinued, with the free bus services being used instead.

Bicycle[edit]

There are (mainly off-road) bicycle routes to some of the terminals.[100] Free bicycle parking places are available in car parks 1 and 1A, at Terminal 4, and to the North and South of Terminal 5's Interchange Plaza, it is worth noting you are not allowed to cycle through the main tunnel to access Terminals 2 and 3 (Terminal 1 closed in 2015).[101]

Incidents and accidents[edit]

  • On 3 March 1948, Sabena Douglas DC3 OO-AWH crashed in fog. Three crew and 19 of the 22 passengers on board died.[102]
  • On 31 October 1950, BEA Vickers Viking G-AHPN crashed at Heathrow after hitting the runway during a go-around. Three crew and 25 passengers died.[103]
  • On 16 January 1955, BEA Vickers Viscount G-AMOK crashed into barriers whilst taking off in fog from a disused runway strip parallel to the desired runway. There were 2 injuries.[104]
  • On 22 June 1955, BOAC de Havilland Dove G-ALTM crashed just short of the runway during a filming flight, when the pilot shut-down the incorrect engine. There were no casualties.[105]
  • On 1 October 1956, XA897, an Avro Vulcan strategic bomber of the Royal Air Force, crashed at Heathrow after an approach in bad weather. The Vulcan was the first to be delivered to the RAF, and was returning from a demonstration flight to Australia and New Zealand, the pilot and co-pilot ejected and survived, but the four other occupants were killed.[106]
  • On 7 January 1960, Vickers Viscount G-AOHU of BEA was damaged beyond economic repair when the nose wheel collapsed on landing. A fire then developed and burnt out the fuselage. There were no casualties among the 59 people on board.[107]
  • On 27 October 1965, BEA Vickers Vanguard G-APEE, flying from Edinburgh, crashed on Runway 28R while attempting to land in poor visibility. All 30 passengers and six crew on board died.[108][109]
  • On 8 April 1968, BOAC Flight 712 Boeing 707 G-ARWE, departing for Australia via Singapore, suffered an engine fire just after take-off. The engine fell from the wing into a nearby gravel pit in Staines, before the plane managed to perform an emergency landing with the wing on fire. However, the plane was consumed by fire once on the ground. Five people – four passengers and a stewardess – died, while 122 survived. Barbara Harrison, a flight attendant on board who helped with the evacuation, was posthumously awarded the George Cross.[110]
  • On 3 July 1968, the port flap operating rod of G-AMAD, an Airspeed Ambassador operated by BKS Air Transport failed due to fatigue thereby allowing the port flaps to retract. This resulted in a rolling movement to port which could not be controlled during the approach, causing the aircraft to contact the grass and swerve towards the terminal building, it hit two parked British European Airways Hawker Siddeley Trident aircraft, burst into flames and came to rest against the ground floor of the terminal building. Six of the eight crew died, as did eight horses on board. Trident G-ARPT was written off,[111] and Trident G-ARPI was badly damaged, but subsequently repaired, only to be lost in the Staines crash in 1972.
  • On 22 January 1970, Vickers Viscount G-AWXI of British Midland was damaged beyond economic repair when an engine caught fire on take-off. A successful emergency landing was made at Heathrow.[112]
  • On 18 June 1972, Trident G-ARPI, operating as BEA548, crashed in a field close to the Crooked Billet Public House, Staines, two minutes after taking off. All 118 passengers and crew on board died.[113]
British Airways Flight 38 which crash landed just short of the runway on 17 January 2008
  • On 8 December 1996, a KLM Cityhopper Fokker 50, PH-KVK, operating as KLM483 from Rotterdam, suffered a main gear collapse after landing on runway 09R. The aircraft's touchdown was normal, right mainwheel first. About 5 seconds after all the landing gear were in ground contact the left main landing gear collapsed and the aircraft left wing tip, left propeller and the rear left portion of the fuselage contacted the runway, the aircraft veered to the left coming to rest on the hard surface clear of the runway in Block 81.[114][115]
  • On 5 November 1997, a Virgin Atlantic Airbus A340-300, G-VSKY, made an emergency landing following an undercarriage malfunction. Part of the undercarriage collapsed on landing, and both aircraft and runway were damaged. Recommendations made as a result of the accident included one that aircraft cabin door simulators should more accurately reproduce operating characteristics in an emergency, and another that cockpit voice recorders should have a two-hour duration in aircraft registered before April 1998.[116]
  • On 17 January 2008, a British Airways Boeing 777-236ER, G-YMMM, operating flight BA038 from Beijing, crash-landed at Heathrow. The aircraft landed on grass short of the south runway, then slid to the edge of the runway and stopped on the threshold, leading to eighteen minor injuries, the aircraft was later found to have suffered loss of thrust caused by fuel icing.[117]

Terrorism and security incidents[edit]

  • On 8 June 1968, James Earl Ray, the man convicted of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., was captured and arrested at Heathrow Airport while attempting to leave the United Kingdom on a false Canadian passport.[118]
  • On 6 September 1970, El Al Flight 219 experienced an attempted hijack by two PFLP members. One hijacker was killed and the other was subdued as the plane made an emergency landing at Heathrow Airport.
  • On 19 May 1974, the IRA planted a series of bombs in the Terminal 1 car park. Two people were injured by the explosions.[119]
  • On 26 November 1983, the Brink's-Mat robbery occurred, in which 6,800 gold bars worth nearly £26 million were taken from a vault near Heathrow. Only a small amount of the gold was recovered, and only two men were convicted of the crime.[120]
  • On 17 April 1986, semtex explosives were found in the bag of a pregnant Irishwoman attempting to board an El Al flight. The explosives had been given to her by her Jordanian boyfriend and father of her unborn child Nizar Hindawi, the incident became known as the Hindawi Affair.[121]
  • On 21 December 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 from Heathrow to New York/JFK was blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 on board and 11 other people on the ground. This also still remains the deadliest attack on a US aircraft.[122]
  • In 1994, over a six-day period, Heathrow was targeted three times (8, 10, and 13 March) by the IRA, which fired 12 mortars. Heathrow was a symbolic target due to its importance to the UK economy, and much disruption was caused when areas of the airport were closed over the period, the gravity of the incident was heightened by the fact that the Queen was being flown back to Heathrow by the RAF on 10 March.[123]
  • In March 2002, thieves stole US$3 million that had arrived on a South African Airways flight.[124]
  • In February 2003, the British Army was deployed to Heathrow along with 1,000 police officers in response to intelligence reports suggesting that al-Qaeda terrorists might launch surface-to-air missile attacks at British or American airliners.[125]
  • On 17 May 2004, Scotland Yard's Flying Squad foiled an attempt by seven men to steal £40 million in gold bullion and a similar quantity of cash from the Swissport warehouse at Heathrow.[126]
  • On 10 August 2006, the airport became the focus of changes in security protocol, following the revelation of a supposed al-Qaeda terrorist plot. New security rules were put in force immediately, causing additional restrictions in regards to carrying liquids onto flights, this caused longer queues and wait times at security. These included the prohibition of carry-on luggage (except essential items such as travel documents and medication) and all liquids – although this rule was later relaxed to allow the carrying on board of liquid medications and baby milk, if they were tasted first by passengers at the security checkpoint.[127]
  • On 25 February 2008, Greenpeace activists protesting against the planned third runway managed to cross the tarmac and climb atop a British Airways Airbus A320, which had just arrived from Manchester Airport. At about 09:45 GMT the protesters unveiled a banner, saying "Climate Emergency – No Third Runway", over the aircraft's tailfin. By 11:00 GMT four arrests had been made.[128]
  • On 13 March 2008, a man with a rucksack scaled the perimeter fence onto runway 27R, and ran across the grounds, resulting in his subsequent arrest. A controlled explosion of his bag took place, although nothing suspicious was found, and the Metropolitan Police later said that the incident had not been terrorism related.[129]
  • On 13 July 2015, thirteen activists belonging to the climate change protest group Plane Stupid managed to break through the perimeter fence and get onto the northern runway. They chained themselves together in protest, disrupting hundreds of flights. All were eventually arrested.[130][131]

Other incidents[edit]

  • Flights from Heathrow were suspended from midday Thursday 15 April 2010 to 22:00 Tuesday 20 April 2010 due to risk of jet engines being damaged by volcanic ash in the upper atmosphere caused by the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland.[132]
  • On 18 December 2010, 'heavy' (9 cm, according to the Heathrow Winter Resilience Enquiry)[133] snowfall caused the closure of the entire airport, causing one of the largest incidents at Heathrow of all time. 4,000 flights were cancelled over five days and 9,500 passengers spent the night at Heathrow on 18 December following the initial snowfall.[134] The problems were caused not only by snow on the runways, but also by snow and ice on the 198 parking stands which were all occupied by aircraft.[135]
  • On 12 July 2013, the ELT on an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner parked at Heathrow airport caught fire due to a short circuit.[136] There were no passengers aboard and no injuries.[137][138]
  • On 14 February 2018, 2 airside vehicles, a BA engineering vehicle and a Heathrow airside operation vehicle crashed on a taxiway near Terminal 5 around 6am. The driver of the BA vehicle died from cardiac arrest and the other driver sustained a broken shoulder, the airport remained opened however 20+ planes were delayed. This incident was referred to the health and safety executive and no arrests have been made by the Met Police .[1]

Future expansion and plans[edit]

Runway and terminal expansion[edit]

Main article: Expansion of Heathrow Airport
British Airways aircraft queuing for take-off

In January 2009, the Transport Secretary at the time, Geoff Hoon announced that the British government supported the expansion of Heathrow by building a third 2,200-metre (7,200 ft) runway and a sixth terminal building.[139] This decision followed the 2003 white paper on the future of air transport in the UK,[140] and a public consultation in November 2007.[141] This was a controversial decision which met with widespread opposition because of the expected greenhouse gas emissions, impact on local communities, as well as noise and air pollution concerns.[142]

Prior to the 2010 general election, the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties announced that they would prevent the construction of any third runway or further material expansion of the airport's operating capacity, the Mayor of London, then Boris Johnson, took the position that London needs more airport capacity, favouring the construction of an entirely new airport in the Thames Estuary rather than expanding Heathrow.[143] After the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition took power, it was announced that the third runway expansion was cancelled.[144] Two years later, leading Conservatives were reported to have changed their minds on the subject.[145]

Another proposal for expanding Heathrow's capacity was the Heathrow Hub, which aims to extend both runways to a total length of about 7,000 metres and divide them into four so that they each provide two, full length runways, allowing simultaneous take-offs and landings while decreasing noise levels.[146][147]

In July 2013, the airport submitted three new proposals for expansion to the Airports Commission, which was established to review airport capacity in the southeast of England, the Airports Commission was chaired by Sir Howard Davies who, at the time of his appointment was in the employ of GIC Private Limited (formerly known as Government Investment Corporation of Singapore) and a member of its International Advisory Board. GIC Private Limited was then (2012), as it remains today, one of Heathrow's principal owners. Sir Howard Davies resigned these positions upon confirmation of his appointment to lead the Airports Commission, although it has been observed that he failed to identify these interests when invited to complete the Airports Commission's register of interests, each of the three proposals that were to be considered by Sir Howard Davies's commission involved the construction of a third runway, either to the north, northwest or southwest of the airport.[148]

The commission released its interim report in December 2013, shortlisting three options: the north-west third runway option at Heathrow, extending an existing runway at Heathrow, and a second runway at Gatwick Airport, after this report was published, the government confirmed that no options had been ruled out for airport expansion in the South-east and that a new runway would not be built at Heathrow before 2015.[149] The full report was published on 1 July 2015, and backed a third, north-west, runway at Heathrow.[150] Reaction to the report was generally negative, particularly from London Mayor Boris Johnson. One senior Conservative told Channel 4: "Howard Davies has dumped an utter steaming pile of poo on the Prime Minister's desk."[151] On 25 October 2016, the government confirmed that Heathrow would be allowed to build a third runway; however a final decision would not be taken until winter of 2017/18, after consultations and government votes. The earliest opening year would be 2025.

Heathrow railway hub[edit]

A plan to make Heathrow an international railway exchange has also been proposed with the potential construction of Heathrow Hub railway station,[152] built on a link to the High Speed 2 (HS2) railway line.[153] This plan was confirmed to be outside the plans for both Phase 1 & Phase 2 of the plans for HS2 in March 2015.[154]

Airtrack[edit]

In July 2009, Heathrow Airport Limited submitted an application to the Secretary of State for Transport seeking to gain authorisation to develop a new rail link to Heathrow Terminal 5 to be known as Heathrow Airtrack,[155] the rail link would address the current lack of public transport available to the South West of the Airport by connecting to Guildford, Reading and London Waterloo. BAA stated that the scheme should add significantly to its aim of increasing the proportion of people using public transport to travel to the airport;[156] in April 2011, BAA announced that it was abandoning the project,[157] citing the unavailability of government subsidy and other priorities for Heathrow,[158] such as linking to Crossrail and HS2.

Heathrow/Gatwick rail link[edit]

Main article: Heathwick

In late 2011, the Department for Transport began studying the feasibility of a high-speed rail link between Gatwick and Heathrow Airport, this rail link would form part of a plan to combine the UK's two biggest airports into a "collective" or "virtual hub" dubbed Heathwick. The scheme envisages a 35-mile (56 km) high-speed rail route linking the two airports in fifteen minutes, with trains travelling at a top speed of 180 miles per hour (290 km/h) parallel to the M25 and passengers passing through immigration or check-in only once.[159]

Heathrow City[edit]

The Mayor of London's office and Transport for London commissioned plans in the event of Heathrow's closure—to replace it by a large built-up area.[160][161][162][163] Some of the plans seem to show terminal 5, or part of it, kept as a shopping centre.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Biman Bangladesh Airlines' flight from London to Dhaka makes a stop at Sylhet, and the airline offers tickets solely between London and Sylhet. However, the flight from Dhaka to London is direct.
  2. ^ Number of passengers including domestic, international and transit

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Aircraft and passenger traffic data from UK airports". UK Civil Aviation Authority. 11 February 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018. 
  2. ^ "Nats | Ais - Home". Nats-uk.ead-it.com. Retrieved 24 September 2017. 
  3. ^ a b "London Heathrow – EGLL". NATS Aeronautical Information Service. Retrieved 21 April 2011. 
  4. ^ "Company information". Retrieved 4 March 2016. 
  5. ^ Calder, Simon (1 July 2015). "Heathrow Airport expansion: Commission report backs third runway". The Independent. London. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  6. ^ Andrew Simms (1 July 2015). "Forget Heathrow expansion, Davies report should tackle frequent flyers". the Guardian. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  7. ^ "Third runway at Heathrow cleared for takeoff by ministers". BBC News. 25 October 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  8. ^ "Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow". Google Maps. Retrieved 26 March 2013. 
  9. ^ "Facts and figures". Heathrow Airport. Retrieved 12 February 2015. 
  10. ^ "International Air Passenger Traffic To and From Reporting Airports for 2013" (PDF). Civil Aviation Authority. p. 68. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015. 
  11. ^ "Heathrow Concorde model removed". BBC News. 30 March 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  12. ^ "Prayer and Worship". Heathrow Airport. Retrieved 27 January 2013. 
  13. ^ "Heathrow's hidden gems". CNN. 13 July 2007. Retrieved 21 April 2011. 
  14. ^ "Landing at Heathrow". BBC News. 18 January 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  15. ^ BAA Heathrow (2004–2005). "Flight Evaluation Report 2004/05" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 November 2005. Retrieved 2 November 2007. 
  16. ^ During periods of westerly operation, aircraft continue to fly in a westerly direction with an easterly tailwind component of up to 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph), if the runway is dry and there is no significant crosswind.
  17. ^ "Noise limits". Heathrow Airport. Retrieved 27 January 2013. 
  18. ^ "Heathrow begins trial of noise relief zones". BBC News. 4 December 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  19. ^ Hugh Morris (1 November 2016). "Half of Heathrow's 25,000 noise complaints made by the same 10 people". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  20. ^ "IATA attacks higher landing charges at British airports". Agence France-Presse. 12 March 2008. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2008. 
  21. ^ "Heathrow and Gatwick face new airline fee caps". BBC News. 30 April 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  22. ^ "Economic Regulation of Heathrow and Gatwick Airports 2008–2013". Civil Aviation Authority. 11 March 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  23. ^ "BA boss joins attack on Heathrow". BBC News. 1 August 2007. Retrieved 28 October 2007. 
  24. ^ "Heathrow airport hits record 70 million passengers". BBC News. 18 February 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013. 
  25. ^ Millward, David (30 October 2007). "Heathrow voted world's least favourite airport". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 30 October 2007. 
  26. ^ "Work Smarter: McLaren". Wired. 1 March 2010. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  27. ^ Airport Coordination Ltd (February 2002). "Submission to the CAA Regarding Peak Periods at Heathrow" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2008. Retrieved 13 January 2008. 
  28. ^ "BA pushes for 'mixed mode' at Heathrow". UK Airport News. Archived from the original on 12 December 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2008. 
  29. ^ Webster, Ben (7 August 2007). "Heathrow is defeated in its attempt to ban environmental campaigners". The Times. London. Retrieved 9 August 2007.  (subscription required)
  30. ^ a b "Security (body) scanners". Heathrow Airport. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  31. ^ "Airport body scanners: Heathrow trials new 'privacy friendly' security technology". Daily Mail. London. 5 September 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  32. ^ "Heathrow - Heathrow bids farewell to Terminal 1" (Press release). Heathrow. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  33. ^ Above Us The Skies: The Story Of BAA – 1991 (Michael Donne – BAA plc), p. 40
  34. ^ Walton, John (31 May 2012). "British Airways takes over, rebrands BMI lounge at Heathrow T1". Australian Business Traveller. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  35. ^ "Heathrow Terminal One deserted ahead of closure next month". ITV News. 28 May 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  36. ^ Calder, Simon (23 January 2015). "Heathrow and Gatwick: Terminal confusion at London's airports". The Independent. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  37. ^ Paylor, Anne (29 June 2015). "London Heathrow turns out the lights in Terminal 1". Air Transport World. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  38. ^ Mellon, James (30 June 2015). "Heathrow shuts doors on Terminal 1 flights". London: Flightglobal. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  39. ^ Blachly, Linda (4 June 2014). "United is first airline to fly out of Heathrow Airport's new T2". Air Transport World. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  40. ^ "Heathrow Terminal 2 named Queen's Terminal". BBC News. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  41. ^ "Heathrow airport's new Terminal 2 opens to passengers". BBC News. 23 November 2009. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  42. ^ Hofmann, Kurt (28 May 2014). "New London Heathrow T2 opening set for June 4". Air Transport World. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  43. ^ "The new Terminal 2: Only one year to go" (Press release). Heathrow Airport. 4 June 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  44. ^ "Heathrow's Terminal 2 to be opened in stages". BBC News. 3 June 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014. 
  45. ^ "Heathrow Terminal One deserted ahead of closure next month". ITV News. 28 May 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  46. ^ "Demolition work begins at Heathrow's Terminal 2". BBC News. 29 April 2010. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  47. ^ "Our history". Heathrow Airport Holdings. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  48. ^ "Debut A380 flight lands in London". BBC News. 18 March 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  49. ^ "BAA Heathrow unveils plans to re-develop Terminal 3" (Press release). BAA. 15 February 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  50. ^ "Heathrow facts and figures". Heathrow Airport Limited. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  51. ^ "Terminal 4's £100m new check-in area reaches the top" (Press release). BAA. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  52. ^ "Queen opens new Heathrow Terminal". BBC News. 14 March 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  53. ^ "British Airways reveals what went wrong with Terminal 5". Computer Weekly. 14 May 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  54. ^ "Iberia to move to Heathrow T5". Business Traveller. 8 February 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  55. ^ Andy, Ivy (1 January 2012). "Londen Heathrow". Vliegveld Londen (in Dutch). Vliegveld Londen. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  56. ^ "Heathrow Terminal 5" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2011. 
  57. ^ "Heathrow Terminal 5: The Vital Statistics". Sky News. 15 March 2008. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2011. 
  58. ^ "ULTra PRT – FAQ". ATS ULTra. 2010. Archived from the original on 16 June 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2010. 
  59. ^ heathrowairport.com – Heathrow destinations and airlines retrieved 1 March 2017
  60. ^ "Heathrow looks ahead", Airports (Key Publishing), September/October 2007, p. 30.
  61. ^ "Terminal 2 opens as the Star Alliance terminal at London Heathrow Airport". World Airline News. 
  62. ^ "London Heathrow Airport bids farewell to Terminal 1". BBC News. 
  63. ^ "Air India re-locates at Heathrow T2 - Business Traveller – The leading magazine for frequent flyers". Business Traveler. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  64. ^ "Delta to move all Heathrow services to Terminal 3 - Business Traveller – The leading magazine for frequent flyers". Business Traveler. 22 August 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  65. ^ "Heathrow: Flight timetable – Heathrow flight schedules". Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  66. ^ Liu, Jim (28 February 2018). "British Airways suspends Doha in 2Q18". Routesonline. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  67. ^ Liu, Jim (8 August 2017). "British Airways adds Nashville service from May 2018". Routesonline. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  68. ^ "New flight routes and destinations from British Airways". www.britishairways.com. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  69. ^ "British Airways Launches New Route to Kefalonia". aviationtribune.com. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  70. ^ Liu, Jim (14 February 2018). "China Southern files new European routes in S18". Routes Online. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  71. ^ Christou, Jean (23 January 2018). "Cobalt to launch flights to Heathrow". Cyprus Mail. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  72. ^ Author LondonAirTravel (26 June 2017). "Delta suspends London Heathrow - Philadelphia – London Air Travel". Londonairtravel.com. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  73. ^ "Hainan Airlines adds Changsha – London Heathrow from late-Mar 2018". Routes Online. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  74. ^ Flynn, David (27 April 2017). "Qantas' non-stop Perth-London Boeing 787 flights start March 24". ausbt.com.au. Australian Business Traveller. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  75. ^ "Qantas ditches Dubai, returns A380 to Sydney-Singapore-London". Australian Business Traveller. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  76. ^ "Tianjin Airlines to launch Xi'An – London Heathrow service from May 2018". Routes Online. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  77. ^ Liu, Jim (22 May 2017). "Qatar Airways Cargo adds Heathrow service from June 2017". Routes Online. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  78. ^ "Passenger Traffic for the last 12 months". ACI. 11 April 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  79. ^ "Investor Relations - Paris Airports Traffic". Aeroports De Paris. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  80. ^ "Turkish Airport Statistics". DHMI. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  81. ^ "Cargo Traffic 2013 Final". Airports Council International. 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  82. ^ a b "Airport Data 2016". UK Civil Aviation Authority. 3 March 2017. Tables 12.1(XLS) and 12.2 (XLS). Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  83. ^ "Explore Our Working World". British Airways. 3 March 2006. Archived from the original on 3 March 2006. 
  84. ^ "World Business Centre Heathrow". thearoragroup.com. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  85. ^ "IAG – International Airlines Group – Investor Relations Team". Iairgroup.com. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  86. ^ "IAG – International Airlines Group – About Us". Iairgroup.com. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  87. ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 26 March – 1 April 1997. 58. "Speedbird House, PO Box 10, London Heathrow Airport, Hounslow, Middlesex, TW6 2JA, UK."
  88. ^ McKellar, Susie and Penny Sparke. "The Contemporary Office." Interior Design and Identity. Manchester University Press, 2004. 200. Retrieved from Google Books on 12 February 2010. ISBN 0-7190-6729-4, ISBN 978-0-7190-6729-7.
  89. ^ "Best Way to Get from Heathrow to London". www.autoeurope.com. Auto Europe. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  90. ^ "Heathrow Airport trains". Heathrow Airport. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  91. ^ "Travel between terminals – Heathrow terminal transfers". Heathrow Airport. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  92. ^ "Heathrow Airport Buses – Free Bus Routes". Milesfaster.co.uk. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  93. ^ "Heathrow to Debut Futuristic Travel Pods". PopSci.com.au. 27 January 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2009. 
  94. ^ "My Pods". futureairports. 2014 (1): 61. 
  95. ^ "Heathrow: Airport taxi". Heathrow Airport. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  96. ^ "Emirates launches A380 model at LHR". Business Traveller. 24 July 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  97. ^ "Heathrow Short Stay Parking". Heathrow Airport. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  98. ^ "Heathrow Long Stay Parking". Heathrow Airport. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  99. ^ "Heathrow parking picking up and dropping off information". www.heathrow.com. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  100. ^ Transport for London free maps 'London Cycling Guide 6' covers Terminals 1, 2 & 3 while 'London Cycling Guide 9' covers Terminal 4 (as of the June 2007 revision).
  101. ^ Cycling and Motorcycling map Archived 11 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  102. ^ Hamilton, Fiona (3 March 2003). "On This Day The Times 3 March 1948". The Times. London. Retrieved 23 March 2018.  (subscription required)
  103. ^ "Aviation Safety Network G-AHPN". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  104. ^ "ICAO Aircraft Accident Digest No 7, Page 46" (PDF). ICAO. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  105. ^ "Flight 13 January 1956, Civil Aviation". Flightglobal. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  106. ^ Blackman, Tony (2007). Vulcan Test Pilot: My Experiences in the Cockpit of a Cold War Icon. London: Grub Street. ISBN 978-1-904943-88-4. p. 142.
  107. ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  108. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident description Vickers 951 Vanguard G-APEE – London–Heathrow Airport (LHR)". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  109. ^ "Night the sky turned to flames". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 1 December 2005. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  110. ^ "Women awarded the George Cross". Stephen-stratford.com. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  111. ^ "Aviation Safety Network G-AMAD". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  112. ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  113. ^ "1972: UK's worst air crash kills 118". BBC News. 18 June 1972. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  114. ^ "Huge delays after Heathrow crash-landing". The Independent. London. 9 December 1996. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  115. ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Net. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  116. ^ Symonds, Tom (3 August 2000). "Pilots praised for crash landing". BBC News. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  117. ^ Symonds, Tom (4 September 2008). "'Ice in fuel' caused BA jet crash". BBC News. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  118. ^ Borrell, Clive (28 June 1968). "Ramon Sneyd denies that he killed Dr King". The Times. London. p. 2.  (subscription required)
  119. ^ "Heathrow Airport History". Milesfaster.co.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2008. 
  120. ^ "Brinks Mat gold". BBC News. 15 April 2000. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  121. ^ Reynolds, Paul (16 December 2002). "Assad engages politics of politeness". BBC News. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  122. ^ "1988: Jumbo jet crashes onto Lockerbie". BBC News. 21 December 1988. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  123. ^ Henderson, Scott (1998). Silent Swift Superb: The Story of the Vickers VC10. Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Scoval. p. 130. ISBN 1-901125-02-5. 
  124. ^ "$3m heist at Heathrow". BBC News. 19 March 2002. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  125. ^ Archived index at the Wayback Machine.
  126. ^ "Flying Squad foils £80m robbery". BBC News. 18 May 2004. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  127. ^ Batty, David; Oliver, Mark (10 August 2006). "'Mass murder terror plot' uncovered". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  128. ^ "Climate protest on Heathrow plane". BBC News. 25 February 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  129. ^ "Man arrested over Heathrow alert". BBC News. 13 March 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  130. ^ Dron, Alan (13 July 2015). "London Heathrow cancels flights due to protests over third runway". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015.  
  131. ^ "Heathrow Airport climate change protest delays flights". BBC News. 13 July 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  132. ^ "Icelandic volcanic ash alert grounds UK flights". BBC News. 15 April 2010. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  133. ^ "Heathrow Winter Resilience Enquiry" (PDF). 
  134. ^ "BAA launches inquiry into Heathrow Airport snow chaos". BBC News. 23 December 2010. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  135. ^ "De-icing Aircraft Parking Stands". Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  136. ^ "Plane on fire at Heathrow airport was Boeing Dreamliner-TV". Reuters. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  137. ^ "Heathrow shut after Boeing Dreamliner 787 fire". BBC News. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  138. ^ AAIB aircraft accident report 2/2015
  139. ^ "Britain's Transport Infrastructure: Adding Capacity at Heathrow: Decisions Following Consultation, January 2009" (PDF). Department of Transport. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 May 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2009. 
  140. ^ "The Future of Air Transport" (PDF). 1 December 2003. 
  141. ^ "Industry backs third Heathrow runway as consultation opens". Flight International. 22 November 2007. Archived from the original on 26 December 2007. Retrieved 8 December 2007. 
  142. ^ Needham, Duncan (27 October 2014). "Maplin: the Treasury and London's third airport in the 1970s". History & Policy. History & Policy. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  143. ^ "Heathrow's new runway". BBC News. 15 January 2009. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  144. ^ "Heathrow third runway plans scrapped by new government". BBC News. 12 May 2010. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  145. ^ Helm, Toby; Doward, Jamie (24 March 2012). "Top Tories admit: we got it wrong on third runway". The Observer. London. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  146. ^ Parker, Andrew; Jacobs, Rose (10 March 2013). "Pilot plots longer Heathrow runways". Financial Times. London. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  147. ^ "CPS paper – Double Upon Heathrow – July 2013" (PDF). Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  148. ^ "Heathrow submits third runway options to Davies Commission". BBC News. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  149. ^ "Airports Commission reveals expansion shortlist". BBC News. 17 December 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  150. ^ "Airports Commission releases final report". gov.uk. 1 July 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  151. ^ Blackhurst, Chris (1 July 2015). "Heathrow expansion: This final 'conclusion' has simply fanned the airport flames". The Independent. London. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  152. ^ Oakeshott, Isabel; Gourlay, Chris (4 January 2009). "Heathrow train plan to allay environmental fears". The Times. London. Retrieved 23 March 2018.  (subscription required)
  153. ^ "High Speed Rail: Investing in Britain's Future". Department for Transport. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  154. ^ "HS2: Heathrow spur plans dropped by transport minister". 
  155. ^ "Airlink application lodged by BAA". BBC News. 24 July 2009. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  156. ^ "The Need For Heathrow Airtrack" (PDF). BAA. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  157. ^ "Heathrow Airtrack Waterloo rail link shelved by BAA". BBC News London. 11 April 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  158. ^ Samuel, A. (11 April 2011). "Heathrow: 'No option but to withdraw proposed Airtrack link to Staines'". Rail News from Rail.co. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2011. 
  159. ^ "Heathrow and Gatwick airports: Ministers mull rail link". BBC News. 8 October 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  160. ^ Cockroft, Steph (16 July 2014). "Heathrow City, 190,000-home town that would open if airport closes". Daily Mail. London. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  161. ^ "Drones and homes replace runways in 'Heathrow City' plans". Financial Times. London. 
  162. ^ "'Heathrow City' designs set out". Express & Star. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 
  163. ^ Crerar, Pippa (5 December 2013). "Vision of a new London borough on site of abandoned Heathrow is revealed". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 23 March 2018. 

Bibliography[edit]

  • Cotton, Jonathan; Mills, John & Clegg, Gillian. (1986) Archaeology in West Middlesex. Uxbridge: London Borough of Hillingdon ISBN 0-907869-07-6
  • Gallop, Alan. (2005) Time Flies: Heathrow At 60. Stroud: Sutton Publishing ISBN 0-7509-3840-4
  • Halpenny, Bruce B. (1992) Action Stations Vol.8: Military Airfields of Greater London. ISBN 1-85260-431-X
  • Sherwood, Philip. (1990) The History of Heathrow. Uxbridge: London Borough of Hillingdon ISBN 0-907869-27-0
  • Sherwood, Philip (editor). (1993) The Villages of Harmondsworth. West Middlesex Family History Society, ISBN 0 9511476 2 5
  • Sherwood, Philip. (1999) Heathrow: 2000 Years of History. Stroud: Sutton Publishing ISBN 0-7509-2132-3
  • Sherwood, Philip. (2006) Around Heathrow Past & Present. Sutton Publishing ISBN 0-7509-4135-9
    • (Contains many pairs of photographs, old (or in one case a painting), and new, each pair made from the same viewpoint.)
  • Sherwood, Philip. (2009) Heathrow: 2000 Years of History. Stroud: The History Press ISBN 978-0750921329
  • Sherwood, Philip. (2012) Around Heathrow Through Time. Amberley Publishing, ISBN 978-1-4456-0846-4
  • Sherwood, Tim. (1999) Coming in to Land: A Short History of Hounslow, Hanworth and Heston Aerodromes 1911–1946. Heritage Publications (Hounslow Library) ISBN 1-899144-30-7
  • Smith, Graham. (2003) Taking to the Skies: the Story of British Aviation 1903–1939. Countryside ISBN 1-85306-815-2
  • Smith, Ron. (2002) British Built Aircraft Vol.1. Greater London: Tempus ISBN 0-7524-2770-9
  • Sturtivant, Ray. (1995) Fairey Aircraft: in Old Photographs. Alan Sutton ISBN 0-7509-1135-2
  • Taylor, H.A. (1974) Fairey Aircraft since 1915. Putnam ISBN 0-370-00065-X.
  • Taylor, John WR. (1997) Fairey Aviation: Archive Photographs. Chalford ISBN 0-7524-0684-1

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Heathrow_Airport&oldid=837204479"