heathrow Archives - The Airliner

Virgin Atlantic aims for growth, calls for more slots at Heathrow

Posted on 10th September 201911th September 2019 by Dominic Oben

Virgin Atlantic has called for changes to Heathrow Airport’s slot regime ahead of Heathrow’s expansion. The airline is currently limited to just 30 slots at the London hub, though it hopes with the construction of a third runway to grow this to 160. Although it is still an estimated seven years away, the third runway at Heathrow is anticipated to increase flight capacity by nearly 60% over the next 30 years, according to TTG Media….

Heathrow exceeds 80 million passenger mark in 2018 as it plans for expansion

Posted on 15th January 201915th January 2019 by Dominic Oben

Heathrow recorded its busiest year ever in 2018 with over 80 million passengers travelling through Europe’s busiest airport, an increase of 2.7 per cent on 2017. The results come following a busy Christmas period, with 6.5 million passengers travelling through the hub in December. Africa and Latin America saw the highest levels of passenger growth, rising 9.3 per cent and seven per cent respectively on last year. The airport’s only passenger decline was in domestic flights, which…

Heathrow and Gatwick to invest in anti-drone technology

Posted on 4th January 20194th January 2019 by Dominic Oben

Heathrow and Gatwick airports will invest millions of pounds in anti-drone technology to prevent a repeat of the disruption caused at Gatwick last month. A spokesperson for Gatwick said the airport had spent £5 million on new defences after flights were grounded and the airport was repeatedly forced to close following a series of drone sightings between 19 and 21 December. The disruption caused mass cancellations and delays at the Sussex hub, affecting about 1,000 flights…

Heathrow Airport unveils carbon neutral growth plan

Posted on 4th December 20184th December 2018 by Dominic Oben

Heathrow Airport has revealed its plan for ‘carbon neutral growth,’ outlining the role it will play on four key areas to reduce emissions from the addition of a third runway. Published today, the plan builds on the momentum of technological change in the aviation industry to make travel more sustainable, with the four key areas including cleaner aircraft technology, improvements to airspace and ground operations, sustainable aviation fuels, and carbon offsetting methods. On aircraft technology,…

MPs approve third runway at Heathrow

Posted on 26th June 201827th June 2018 by Dominic Oben

MPs have voted in favour to build a third runway at London’s Heathrow Airport. After decades of debate, the controversial issue finally was approved in Parliament, with 415 MPs voting in favour of the proposition and 19 against, making for a majority of 296. Conservative MPs were under orders to support the government, but eight voted against the proposition. Labour’s official position was to oppose expansion, but its MPs were given a free vote. The…

Gatwick Airport unveils £1.1bn five-year growth plan

Posted on 13th June 2018 by Dominic Oben

Gatwick Airport has announced a new five-year plan to tackle its capacity problem, pumping an extra £1.1bn worth of investment into the airport. With passenger numbers expected to reach 53 million by 2023, the UK’s second largest airport has been looking at ways of growing and increasing capacity, including the addition of a third runway. Gatwick currently operates as a single-use runway airport, owing to the proximity of its two runways, 08L/26R and 08R/26L. Having lost…

Heathrow sees record 17.7m passengers during Q1

Posted on 7th May 2018 by Dominic Oben

Heathrow Airport welcomed a record number of 17.7 million passengers in the first quarter of this year. The figure is up 3.1 per cent on last year, with over 200,000 people passing through the airport each day in the period January to March, airport statistics showed. Long-haul travel was the key geographic driver of traffic growth increasing 3.5%, with notable growth on routes serving Mumbai, Tokyo and Guangzhou. According to the west London airport’s data,…

Heathrow Airport records second busiest month in its history

Posted on 11th September 2017 by Dominic Oben

Heathrow Airport recorded the second busiest month in its history in August, with 7.5 million passengers travelling through the international hub. The total marks a 2 per cent increase on the same period in 2016. Passenger growth was particularly significant in the domestic sector, up 6 per cent, thanks to recently launched Flybe flights to Scotland. Middle Eastern destinations were also popular with travellers, with fuller aircraft leading to a 7 per cent increase in passengers…