London Heliport , previously called Battersea Heliport and currently known officially as the Edmiston London Heliport for sponsorship reasons, is London's only licensed

heliport A heliport is a small airport suitable for use by helicopters and some other vertical lift aircraft. Designated heliports typically contain one or more touchdown and liftoff areas and may also have limited facilities such as fuel or hangars. I ...

. The facility, which was built by W. & C. French and opened on 23 April 1959, is located in

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batter ...

on the south bank of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

, southwest of

Westminster Bridge Westminster Bridge is a road-and-foot-traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, linking Westminster on the west side and Lambeth on the east side. The bridge is painted predominantly green, the same colour as the leather seats in the H ...

and between

Wandsworth Bridge Wandsworth Bridge crosses the River Thames in west London. It carries the A217 road between the area of Battersea, near Wandsworth Town Station, in the London Borough of Wandsworth on the south of the river, and the areas of Sands End and Par ...

and Battersea Railway Bridge. Prior to the official opening, the first aircraft to land at the heliport on 8 April 1959, was a Westland Widgeon Series 2, owned by

Westland Aircraft Westland Aircraft was a British aircraft manufacturer located in Yeovil, Somerset. Formed as a separate company by separation from Petters Limited just before the start of the Second World War, Westland had been building aircraft since 1915. Du ...

. The heliport, once owned by

Westland Westland or Westlands may refer to: Places *Westlands, an affluent neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi, Kenya * Westlands, Staffordshire, a suburban area and ward in Newcastle-under-Lyme *Westland, a peninsula of the Shetland Mainland near Vaila ...

and then

Harrods Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to other ...

, is a very small site, making use of a jetty to provide a helipad for take-off and landing, and onshore parking for three to four aircraft, depending upon their size. The heliport provides landing, parking and refuelling services between 08:00 and 21:00 (flights are permitted between 07:00 and 23:00), albeit parking is normally restricted to smaller helicopter categories. London Heliport - Battersea - London - Sikorsky S76A landing - evening - 030604

London Heliport - Battersea - London - Sikorsky S76A landing - evening - 030604

Flight conditions and procedures at the heliport prescribe a circuit height above the Thames, in an extended figure-of-eight over the water, to seek to minimise

noise pollution Noise pollution, also known as environmental noise or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise with ranging impacts on the activity of human or animal life, most of them are harmful to a degree. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is main ...

for residents in the area and to constrain flight operations to over the river, away from the built-up area. Ground running of rotors is restricted to a maximum of five minutes for the same reason. In 2003 London Heliport was acquired by Weston Homes. In 2012 it was bought by the

Reuben Brothers David Reuben (born 1941) and Simon Reuben (born 1944) are Indian-born British people, British businessmen. In May 2020, they were named as the second richest family in the UK by the ''Sunday Times Rich List'' with a net worth of £16 billion. E ...

, who also own

Oxford Airport London Oxford Airport , formerly known as Kidlington Airport, is a privately owned airport located near Kidlington Kidlington is a major village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Oxfordshire, England, between the River Cherwell ...

, for £35 million. Edmiston announced in August 2019 that they would be taking over the title sponsorship of the heliport with a restyling of the interior & exterior areas as well as repainting the helicopter landing apron. The nearest main line railway station is and the nearest

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

station is .

Accidents and incidents

On 16 January 2013 an

Agusta A109 The AgustaWestland AW109, originally the Agusta A109, is a lightweight, twin-engine, eight-seat multi-purpose helicopter designed and initially produced by the Italian rotorcraft manufacturer Agusta. It was the first all-Italian helicopter to ...

helicopter diverting to London Heliport in adverse weather collided with a construction crane and then crashed into the street, killing the pilot and one person on the ground. This was the first fatal helicopter crash anywhere near the heliport since records began in 1976. London Heliport has a fully licensed rescue and firefighting service who are on duty for all aircraft movements at the port as well as providing an emergency response to any helicopter incident within the London area. The Heliports Fire Service also conducts regular training alongside their colleagues in the

London Fire Brigade The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is the fire and rescue service for London, the capital of the United Kingdom. It was formed by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act 1865, under the leadership of superintendent Eyre Massey Shaw. It has 5,992staff, in ...

and

RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

and offer training in helicopter emergencies to any emergency service.

References

External links

*
EGLW on Helipaddy

Planning of helicopter stations in the London area
- 1961 report commissioned by the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation {{Airports in the United Kingdom Heliports in England Aviation in London Transport in the London Borough of Wandsworth Airports in the London region Reuben Brothers Buildings and structures in Battersea Transport organisations based in London