History of Heathrow Airport
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In its early years what is now
Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
was the Great West Aerodrome, sometimes known as Heathrow Aerodrome.


Before 1920

*About 1410: The first known mention of a semi-rural lane called Heathrow (spelled ''La Hetherewe''). Heathrow divided farmland and heath until 1819 when the heath also became farmland. Specifically, the lane divided the
hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
of
Harmondsworth Harmondsworth is a village in the London Borough of Hillingdon in the county of Greater London with a short border to the south onto London Heathrow Airport. The village has no railway stations, but adjoins the M4 motorway and the A4 road (the ...
(on the northwestern edge of today's airport) from the 17th and 18th century
highwaymen A highwayman was a robber who stole from travellers. This type of thief usually travelled and robbed by horse as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot; mounted highwaymen were widely considered to be socially superior to fo ...
's lair of
Hounslow Heath Hounslow Heath is a local nature reserve in the London Borough of Hounslow and at a point borders Richmond upon Thames. The public open space, which covers , is all that remains of the historic Hounslow Heath which covered more than . The pre ...
(centered roughly where Terminal 3 is today). A little of Harlington, Hatton in
Bedfont Bedfont is a suburb in the London Borough of Hounslow, approximately west of Charing Cross. Originally a distinct village, Bedfont has a large central conservation area around Bedfont Green. The majority of the housing was built at a time of an ...
and
Stanwell Stanwell is a village close to two of the three main towns in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, about west of central London. A small corner of its land is vital industrial land serving Heathrow Airport – most of the rest is residential ...
also fall within the airport's perimeter road. *1915:
Fairey Aviation The Fairey Aviation Company Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer of the first half of the 20th century based in Hayes in Middlesex and Heaton Chapel and RAF Ringway in Cheshire. Notable for the design of a number of important military a ...
, founded by British aero-engineer and plane builder Richard Fairey, started assembling and flight testing its aircraft from Northolt Aerodrome, about six miles north of the modern Heathrow airport. * 1917-1919: About southeast of Heathrow, Hounslow Heath Aerodrome was the only London aerodrome with customs facilities in 1919. After the closure of Hounslow Heath Aerodrome in 1919,
Croydon Airport Croydon Airport (former ICAO code: EGCR) was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. Located in Croydon, South London, England, it opened in 1920, built in a Neoclassical style, and was developed as Britain's main airp ...
became the principal London Airport.Sherwood, Philip (1999)Sherwood, Tim (1999)


1920s

*1925: Norman Macmillan, an RAF officer, made a forced landing and take-off at Heathrow. He noted the flatness of the land and its suitability for an airfield. The land was at the time used for
market gardening A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to som ...
and wheat growing. *1928: The
Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of Stat ...
gave Fairey notice to cease using Northolt. Fairey Aviation needed an airfield for flight testing of aircraft designed and manufactured at its factory in North Hyde Road,
Hayes Hayes may refer to: * Hayes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States * Hayes (given name) Businesses * Hayes Brake, an American designer and manufacturer of disc brakes * Hay ...
. Norman Macmillan, by then Fairey's chief test pilot, remembered the forced landing and take-off at Heathrow in 1925, and recommended the suitability of the area for an aerodrome. Macmillan flew aerial surveys of the site. *1929: Fairey Aviation started by buying of farmland in four adjoining plots near southeast of the hamlet of
Heathrow Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...
from four local landowners, for about £1,500, at the typical 1929 market rate of £10 per acre. (The first plot bought was 71 acres from the Rev. R. Ross,
vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...
of
Harmondsworth Harmondsworth is a village in the London Borough of Hillingdon in the county of Greater London with a short border to the south onto London Heathrow Airport. The village has no railway stations, but adjoins the M4 motorway and the A4 road (the ...
.) The site was bounded to the northeast by Cain's Lane, to the south by the
Duke of Northumberland's River The Duke of Northumberland's River or D. O. N. River consists of separate upper and lower artificial watercourses in west London, United Kingdom. The older name Isleworth Mill Stream/River more accurately describes the economic motivation behi ...
, and to the west by High Tree Lane. The airfield boundaries were south of the Bath Road, northwest of the Great South West Road, and about two miles west of the western end of the Great West Road. The airfield was about three miles by road from the Hayes factory.Sherwood, Philip (1999), pp. 53–61; Sherwood, Philip (2009), pp. 62–72


1930s

*June 1930: The airfield was declared operational. *1930 to 1939: The airfield was first called
Harmondsworth Harmondsworth is a village in the London Borough of Hillingdon in the county of Greater London with a short border to the south onto London Heathrow Airport. The village has no railway stations, but adjoins the M4 motorway and the A4 road (the ...
Aerodrome, then The Great West Aerodrome, and sometimes Heathrow Aerodrome. One prewar map labels it "Airport". A
hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...
was built. Fairey planned to relocate its factory at Hayes to the site. The Great West Aerodrome was used for aircraft assembly and testing. Commercial traffic used
Croydon Airport Croydon Airport (former ICAO code: EGCR) was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. Located in Croydon, South London, England, it opened in 1920, built in a Neoclassical style, and was developed as Britain's main airp ...
, which was London's main airport at the time. *1935 to 1939: The
Royal Aeronautical Society The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community. Founded in 1866, it is the oldest aeronautical society in the world. Members, Fellows, ...
(RAeS) held its annual garden party fly-ins at Heathrow airfield, at the invitation of
Richard Fairey Sir Charles Richard Fairey MBE FRAeS (5 May 1887 – 30 September 1956), also known as Richard Fairey, was an English aircraft manufacturer. Early life Charles Fairey was born on 5 May 1887 in Hendon, Middlesex and educated at the Merchant Ta ...
, chairman and managing director of Fairey Aviation Company Ltd, and a past president of the RAeS. The events were aviation society gatherings combined with promotion and display of aircraft and their manufacturers, before the development of aircraft industry shows in Britain, from 1947. Richard Fairey, who started in business with model aircraft, also allowed weekend use of the airfield by model aircraft clubs. More people were said to visit Heathrow on that one day than they did for the rest of the year. *5 May 1935: The first Fairey's
airshow An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The largest air show ...
. A description in '' The Aeroplane'' magazine (8 May 1935) calls the place "Heathrow Aerodrome,
Harmondsworth Harmondsworth is a village in the London Borough of Hillingdon in the county of Greater London with a short border to the south onto London Heathrow Airport. The village has no railway stations, but adjoins the M4 motorway and the A4 road (the ...
". *19 June 1936: A meeting of the
Aerodrome An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publi ...
s Committee of
Middlesex County Council Middlesex County Council was the principal local government body in the administrative county of Middlesex from 1889 to 1965. The county council was created by the Local Government Act 1888, which also removed the most populous part of the c ...
, among other things, discussed and rejected an idea to have an aerodrome in the Heathrow area "at
Harmondsworth Harmondsworth is a village in the London Borough of Hillingdon in the county of Greater London with a short border to the south onto London Heathrow Airport. The village has no railway stations, but adjoins the M4 motorway and the A4 road (the ...
near the Perry Oaks sludge works", with later extension by 300 acres: reasons against were the presence of the Perry Oaks sewage sludge treatment works and of
Fairey Aviation The Fairey Aviation Company Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer of the first half of the 20th century based in Hayes in Middlesex and Heaton Chapel and RAF Ringway in Cheshire. Notable for the design of a number of important military a ...
's aerodrome, and the
Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...
objecting to loss of first-rate farmland: see
Heathrow (hamlet) Heathrow or Heath Row was a wayside hamlet along a minor country lane called Heathrow Road in the ancient parish of Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England, on the outskirts of what is now Greater London. Its buildings and all associated holdings wer ...
. *14 May 1939: The last Fairey's airshow. Its brochure calls the place "Great West Aerodrome, near
Hayes Hayes may refer to: * Hayes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States * Hayes (given name) Businesses * Hayes Brake, an American designer and manufacturer of disc brakes * Hay ...
", and no mention of Heathrow.


1940s

* What became the airport was used by the RAF during the Second World War, but only for diversions. *1940: No. 229 Squadron Hurricanes from
RAF Northolt ("Ready to carry or to fight") , pushpin_map = Greater London , pushpin_label = RAF Northolt , pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Greater London , coordinates = , type = Royal Air Force station , code = , site_area = , height = , owner ...
were sent to the Great West Aerodrome while there was a threat of enemy attack on Northolt. *1942: Richard Fairey was knighted as Sir Richard Fairey, and held the position of Director General of the British Air Mission, based primarily in Washington, DC. *1943: Fairey Aviation bought 10 more acres of land to add to the total of bought in 1929, 1930, 1939 and 1942. The company planned to move its factory from Hayes to the aerodrome at Heathrow. *1943: The Air Ministry, headed by the
Secretary of State for Air The Secretary of State for Air was a secretary of state position in the British government, which existed from 1919 to 1964. The person holding this position was in charge of the Air Ministry. The Secretary of State for Air was supported by ...
(
Sir Archibald Sinclair Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso, (22 October 1890 – 15 June 1970), known as Sir Archibald Sinclair between 1912 and 1952, and often as Archie Sinclair, was a British politician and leader of the Liberal Party. Backgr ...
), secretly developed plans to requisition the airfield under wartime legislation – the Defence of the Realm Act 1914. The plans were stated to be designed to suit the considerable needs of long-range bombers, such as
USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
Boeing B-29 The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 ...
s, but they were actually based on recommendations from professor
Patrick Abercrombie Sir Leslie Patrick Abercrombie (; 6 June 1879 – 23 March 1957) was an English regional and town planner. Abercrombie was an academic during most of his career, and prepared one city plan and several regional studies prior to the Second Worl ...
for a new international airport for London. The project was headed by
Harold Balfour Harold Harington Balfour, 1st Baron Balfour of Inchrye, (1 November 1897 – 21 September 1988), was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom, and a flying ace of the First World War. As Under-Secretary of State for Air in 1944 he ...
(then Under-Secretary of State for Air, later Lord Balfour of Inchrye), who kept the true nature of it hidden from Parliament. *January 1944: The decision and plans were finally revealed. *:The wartime legislation provided no obligation to pay compensation; Fairey Aviation was offered compensation at the 1939 farming land market rate of £10 per acre; that was rejected. Sir Richard wrote to his co-chairman of Fairey Aviation: *: *The Air Ministry requisitioned the aerodrome, although the role that Fairey Aviation was fulfilling in the war effort meant the Ministry of Aircraft Production would only sanction the action if another site could be found for the test flights. Fairey moved to Heston Aerodrome, and stayed there until 1947, when it moved to
White Waltham White Waltham is a village and civil parish, west of Maidenhead, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is crossed briefly by the M4 motorway, which along with the Great Western Main Line and all other roads c ...
airfield in
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...
. That proved especially inconvenient for the company, as the airfield was over from Hayes. As the aerodrome at Heathrow had been bought under the Defence of the Realm Act 1914, it meant the Government did not have to pay compensation when compulsorily acquiring land. Fairey sought compensation through legal proceedings that continued until 1964. Until their conclusion, the former Fairey hangar at Heathrow could not be demolished; afterwards it was used as Heathrow Airport's
fire station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire ...
. *An attempt by the Air Ministry to take over the Perry Oaks sewage sludge works to fit in the top left corner of a ∇ layout of three runways caused furious exchanges with
Middlesex County Council Middlesex County Council was the principal local government body in the administrative county of Middlesex from 1889 to 1965. The county council was created by the Local Government Act 1888, which also removed the most populous part of the c ...
, who had to resist, as that would need first building somewhere else to treat the sewage sludge handled there, and building new connecting sewers, all in wartime. *12 February 1944:
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...
objected to the usage of 3,000 men and much effort on the Heathrow project during the run-up to
Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...
. The
Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...
objected to the loss of good farm and market garden land. *April 1944: The
Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of Stat ...
requisitioned the airfield and surrounding farms, roads and houses, ostensibly to accommodate military bombers. (
Harold Balfour Harold Harington Balfour, 1st Baron Balfour of Inchrye, (1 November 1897 – 21 September 1988), was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom, and a flying ace of the First World War. As Under-Secretary of State for Air in 1944 he ...
(later Lord Balfour), then Under-
Secretary of State for Air The Secretary of State for Air was a secretary of state position in the British government, which existed from 1919 to 1964. The person holding this position was in charge of the Air Ministry. The Secretary of State for Air was supported by ...
(1938–44), wrote in his 1973 autobiography, ''Wings over Westminster'', that he deliberately deceived the government committee into believing a requisition was necessary so that Heathrow could be used as a base for long-range transport aircraft in support of the war with Japan. In reality, Balfour wrote that he always intended the site to be used for civil aviation, and used a wartime emergency requisition order to avoid a lengthy and costly
public inquiry A tribunal of inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body. In many common law countries, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and Canada, such a public inquiry differs from a royal commission in that ...
.) This took over all or part of twenty farmers' and market-gardeners' land-holdings, in total about 1,300 acres initially. Construction of the new airport by
Wimpey Construction George Wimpey was a British construction firm. Formed in 1880 and based in Hammersmith, it initially operated largely as a road surfacing contractor. The business was acquired by Godfrey Mitchell in 1919, and he developed it into a constructi ...
began.Wimpey – The First 100 Years: page 28 *May 1944: Eviction notices were issued. Airfield construction work began: demolition of Heathrow domestic and farm buildings, and grubbing out trees and hedges and fruit
orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of ...
s.


After World War II

*May 1945: When World War II ended, the new airfield was still under construction. Plans had changed from tenuous wartime military use to development into an international airport. A photograph made in 1945 shows the first layout of three runways, and a perimeter road smaller than the later airport boundary, and the former country lanes still existing, and Perry Oaks Farm and some buildings along Cain's Lane still standing among fields outside this perimeter. * 1945: several bombers including Lancasters and Halifax were diverted there. No RAF aircraft became based there, although facilities common on RAF bases had been built. *1 January 1946: Ownership of the site was transferred from the (military) Air Ministry to the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Inaugural flight on Runway 1, recently completed; Runways 2 and 3 approaching completion. The airport buildings were Army marquees and caravans and prefabricated RAF huts. *10 January 1946: The British
Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...
agreed Stage 3 of the airport, which was an extension north of the Bath Road, with a large triangle of three runways, obliterating Sipson and most of Harlington (Harlington church would have survived on a small spur of land with airport near on three sides), and diverting the Bath Road. *25 March 1946: Lord Winster, the Minister of Aviation, performed the official opening ceremony. The first aircraft to use the new airport was a
British South American Airways British South American Airways (BSAA) was a state-run airline of the United Kingdom in the mid-late 1940s responsible for services to the Caribbean and South America. Originally named British Latin American Air Lines it was renamed before serv ...
(BSAA)
Avro Lancastrian The Avro 691 Lancastrian was a Canadian and British passenger and mail transport aircraft of the 1940s and 1950s developed from the Avro Lancaster heavy bomber. The Lancaster was named after Lancaster, Lancashire; a Lancastrian is an inhabita ...
named ''Star Light'' captained by BSAA's managing director AVM D. C. T. Bennett. **The passenger terminal was an area of Army tents and
duckboard A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway built with wooden planks that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or marshy land. They are also in effect a low type of bridg ...
ing next to the south side of the Bath Road. Later the tents were replaced by prefabricated buildings. (It was opposite the Bricklayers Arms pub, which in 1954 was renamed the Air Hostess, and in 1988 was demolished.) The first
control tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...
was a crude brick building (3 storeys, plus 2 huts on its flat roof) roughly where the airport police station was later built. *31 May 1946: The newly named London Airport was officially opened for commercial operations. *16 April 1946: The first aircraft of a foreign airline, a Panair Lockheed 049 Constellation, landed after a flight from
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
. BOAC's first scheduled flight was an
Avro Lancastrian The Avro 691 Lancastrian was a Canadian and British passenger and mail transport aircraft of the 1940s and 1950s developed from the Avro Lancaster heavy bomber. The Lancaster was named after Lancaster, Lancashire; a Lancastrian is an inhabita ...
headed for Australia on a route operated jointly with
Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founde ...
. * 31 May 1946: The airport was fully opened for civilian use. * 1947: By now Heathrow runways formed a triangle consisting of 100/280 ( long), 156/336 ( long), and 52/232 ( long). A parallel runway farther west soon replaced 156/336 thereby expanding the planned terminal area inside the triangle. The temporary "prefab" passenger and cargo buildings were at the northeast edge of the airport, just south of Bath Road. * 1948: Perry Oaks farm was demolished. * 1948 to 1949: Buildings along Hatton Road were demolished, thus likely start of the airport spreading east of Hatton Road. * A short film made by the
Crown Film Unit The Crown Film Unit was an organisation within the British Government's Ministry of Information during the Second World War. Formerly the GPO Film Unit it became the Crown Film Unit in 1940. Its remit was to make films for the general public in ...
in 1949,
London Airport
' (available at the
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
), shows the official opening of the airport and the intensive building works. Runway 1 was ready for use but the old Heathrow village area's country lanes were still visible, and Perry Oaks farm and some houses along Hatton Road were still there.


1950s

Photographs of Heathrow Airport in 1953 or 1954
* Early 1950s: Three more runways completed the
hexagram , can be seen as a compound composed of an upwards (blue here) and downwards (pink) facing equilateral triangle, with their intersection as a regular hexagon (in green). A hexagram ( Greek language, Greek) or sexagram ( Latin) is a six-pointe ...
; two runways would always be within 30° of the wind direction. * October 1950: Revision of the northward extension plan: smaller area; part of Harlington reprieved; much of
Harmondsworth Harmondsworth is a village in the London Borough of Hillingdon in the county of Greater London with a short border to the south onto London Heathrow Airport. The village has no railway stations, but adjoins the M4 motorway and the A4 road (the ...
to be demolished. * 31 October 1950: BEA Vickers Viking crashes in thick fog. * 7 February 1952: Princess Elizabeth returned to the United Kingdom as
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
. She arrived on the BOAC Argonaut ''Atalanta'', on an area of the airport now covered by the Brasserie Restaurant of the Heathrow Renaissance Hotel. * 1953:
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
ceremonially laid the first slab of a new runway that year. *December 1953: Passenger traffic reached 1 million, with a total of 62,000 flights in the year. *December 1953: After much protest, the northward extension plan was cancelled.Old 1:2500 scale Ordnance Survey maps, reproduced at about 15 inches = 1 mile, publ. Alan Godfrey Maps:- * Heathrow, 1934, Middlesex sheet 19.08, * Hatton, 1935, Middlesex sheet 20.05, *1955: Queen Elizabeth II opened the first permanent passenger terminal, the Europa Building (later known as Terminal 2) as well as the Queens Building. These terminal buildings stood in the central area in the middle of the star pattern of runways and were reached by a twin access tunnel from the Bath Road (A4) passing under Runway 28R/10L . *1 April 1955: A new
control tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...
designed by
Frederick Gibberd Sir Frederick Ernest Gibberd (7 January 1908 – 9 January 1984) was an English architect, town planner and landscape designer. He is particularly known for his work in Harlow, Essex, and for the BISF house, a design for a prefabricated counci ...
opened to replace the original 1940s tower. *Late 1950s: BEA Helicopters ran an experimental helicopter service to Heathrow Central from London's South Bank and other destinations. The roof gardens on top of the Queen's Building and Europa Terminal were popular with the public, and above the tunnel there was a ground enclosure from which sight-seeing flights operated. *1955: The first central terminal building was named Building 1 ''Europa''. *1956: The second central terminal building (an extension on Building 1) was named Building 2 ''Britannic''. *1957: The West London Air Terminal, a
check-in Check-in is the process whereby people announce their arrival at an office, hotel, airport, hospital, seaport or event. Office check-in Many offices have a reception or front office area near the entrance to greet or assist visitors arriving to a ...
facility for
British European Airways British European Airways (BEA), formally British European Airways Corporation, was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. BEA operated to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East from airports around the United Kingdom. The a ...
, began operations.


1960s

* 1961: Runway lengths: Runway 10L 9313 ft, 10R had been extended west to 11000 ft, 5L 6255 ft, 5R 7734 ft, 15R 7560 ft, 15L not in use. * 13 November 1961: Building 3, the ''Oceanic'' building (renamed as Terminal 3 in 1968) opened to handle long-haul flight departures. The roof gardens on the Queen's Building and the Europa Terminal remained popular.British Pathe news reel 31.10 dated June 1955 (www.britishpathe.com) *Spring 1962: Last scheduled airline flights from London Airport North (Pan Am, TWA and Pakistan International). *1964: The documentary ''City of the Air'' is filmed at Heathrow. *The legal dispute between
Fairey Aviation The Fairey Aviation Company Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer of the first half of the 20th century based in Hayes in Middlesex and Heaton Chapel and RAF Ringway in Cheshire. Notable for the design of a number of important military a ...
and the government over compensation, which started in early 1944, was finally settled in the sum of £1,600,000. Fairey's 1930 hangar, in legal limbo for 20 years, and used as the Heathrow Airport
fire station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire ...
and as backdrop for an advertising billboard for
BOAC British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the pa ...
, was then finally demolished. *1965: Ownership and control of the airport passes from the
Ministry of Aviation The Ministry of Aviation was a department of the United Kingdom government established in 1959. Its responsibilities included the regulation of civil aviation and the supply of military aircraft, which it took on from the Ministry of Supply. ...
to the new
British Airports Authority Heathrow Airport Holdings is the United Kingdom-based operator of Heathrow Airport. The company also operated Gatwick Airport, Stansted Airport, Edinburgh Airport and several other UK airports, but was forced by the Competition Commission to se ...
. *1966: London Airport is renamed Heathrow. *8 June 1968:
James Earl Ray James Earl Ray (March 10, 1928 – April 23, 1998) was an American fugitive convicted for assassinating Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. After this Ray was on the run and was cap ...
, an American criminal convicted of assassinating
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life ...
leader
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
, was captured while trying to fly out of the United Kingdom using a false Canadian passport. At check-in, the ticket agent noticed the name on the fake passport, Ramon George Sneyd, was on the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...
watchlist. The United Kingdom quickly extradited Ray to the United States where he was to have his trial in
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...
, where Dr. King was assassinated. *6 November 1968: Terminal 1 opened, completing the cluster of buildings at the centre of the airport site. By this time Heathrow was handling 14 million passengers annually. Then or later, Building 1 (''Europa'') and Building 2 (''Britannic'') were jointly renamed Terminal 2. *17 April 1969:
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
formally inaugurated Terminal 1. *:The original terminals being in the centre of the site became a constraint on expansion. Built for easy access to all runways, it was assumed that passengers using the terminals would not need extensive car parking, as air travel was beyond all but the wealthy, who would be chauffeur-driven with the chauffeur leaving with the car once his passengers had departed, and coming back with the car to collect his returning passenger. * Late 1960s: The cargo terminal was built to the south of the southern runway, connected to Terminals 1, 2 and 3 by the Heathrow Cargo Tunnel.


1970s

* 1970: Terminal 3 was expanded with the addition of an arrivals building in 1970. Other new facilities included the UK's first moving walkways. Heathrow's two main east-west runways, 10L/28R and 10R/28L (later redesignated 09L/27R and 09R/27L) were also extended to their current lengths to accommodate new large jets such as the Boeing 747. The other runways were closed to facilitate terminal expansion, except for Runway 23, which remained available for crosswind landings until 2002. * 1973: The truth about the secret Air Ministry plan came out, in
Harold Balfour Harold Harington Balfour, 1st Baron Balfour of Inchrye, (1 November 1897 – 21 September 1988), was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom, and a flying ace of the First World War. As Under-Secretary of State for Air in 1944 he ...
's autobiography (''Wings over Westminster'', publ. Hutchinson, London, 1973). * 1974: The check-in facilities at the West London Air Terminal close. * 1974: Heathrow was briefly occupied by the Army, ostensibly as a training run in case of possible IRA terrorism. However, in a documentary, ''The Plot Against Harold Wilson'' in 2006, Baroness Falkender asserted that the government was not informed in advance. The occupation of Heathrow was privately seen at Number 10 as a warning to Wilson by the Army, or even a dress rehearsal for a ''coup d'etat''. * 19 July 1975:
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 counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...
's
Piccadilly line The Piccadilly line is a deep-level London Underground line running from the north to the west of London. It has two branches, which split at Acton Town, and serves 53 stations. The line serves Heathrow Airport, and some of its stations are ...
extension from Hounslow West opened as far as Hatton Cross. * 1977: The Piccadilly line opened from Hatton Cross to Heathrow Central, putting the airport within just under an hour's journey of
Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...
.


1980s

*Early 1980s: Annual passenger numbers had increased to 30 million, and required more terminal space. Terminal 4 was built south of the southern runway, on the site of farm or farms called Mayfields and Mayfield Farm, next to the existing cargo terminal and away from the three older terminals with connections to Terminals 1, 2 and 3 by the existing Heathrow Cargo Tunnel.
Google Earth ground view
Some open land between Staines Road and Stanwell Road is still called Mayfield Farm. *1984: The one-way underground railway loop serving
Heathrow Terminal 4 Heathrow Terminal 4 is an airport terminal An airport terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from an aircraft. Within the ter ...
(south of the central terminal area) was added to the London Underground
Piccadilly line The Piccadilly line is a deep-level London Underground line running from the north to the west of London. It has two branches, which split at Acton Town, and serves 53 stations. The line serves Heathrow Airport, and some of its stations are ...
. Heathrow Central station was renamed Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3. *20 April 1984: a bomb exploded in the baggage area of T2, injuring 22 people including 1 seriously. *1986: The
M25 motorway The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 the lon ...
opened in 1986 and provided a direct motorway link to much of the country. *1 April 1986: Terminal 4 was opened by the
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...
and
Princess of Wales Princess of Wales (Welsh: ''Tywysoges Cymru'') is a courtesy title used since the 14th century by the wife of the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. The current title-holder is Catherine (née Middleton). The title was fi ...
, and became the home of the newly privatised
British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...
. * 1987: The UK government privatised the
British Airports Authority Heathrow Airport Holdings is the United Kingdom-based operator of Heathrow Airport. The company also operated Gatwick Airport, Stansted Airport, Edinburgh Airport and several other UK airports, but was forced by the Competition Commission to se ...
(BAA) which controls Heathrow''The Economist''
''The man who bought trouble''
Consulted on 18 July 2007.
and six other UK airports.''BAA's UK airports''
Consulted on 23 October 2007
*: Following privatisation, during the late 1980s and 1990s BAA expanded the proportion of terminal space allocated to retail activities and invested in retail development activities. This included expanding terminal areas to provide more shops and restaurants, and routing passengers through shopping areas to maximise their exposure to retail offerings.


1990s

*March 1994: 1994 Heathrow mortar attacks *7 February 1996:
Concorde The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France an ...
G-BOAD arrived at Heathrow after crossing the Atlantic from New York in a new record time: 2 hours, 52 minutes, and 59 seconds. *May 1997: The planning stage of the Terminal 5 Public Planning Inquiry ended at a total cost of £80m. Testimony was heard from 700 witnesses and 100,000 pages of transcripts were recorded. The consultation process took 524 days; eight years elapsed from the first application to final government approval – the longest ever planning process in UK history. *23 June 1998: The
Heathrow Express Heathrow Express is a high-frequency airport rail link operating between London Heathrow Airport and . Opened in 1998, trains run non-stop, with a journey time of 15 minutes. The service is operated jointly by Great Western Railway and Heathrow ...
began providing a railway service from Paddington station in London. A special rail line was constructed between Heathrow and the
Great Western Main Line The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs westwards from London Paddington to . It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. Opened in 1841, it was the o ...
for this service.


2000s

*2001: 24
smallholding A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...
s west of the
Perry Oaks sewage works Heathrow or Heath Row was a linear settlement, wayside hamlet (UK place), hamlet along a minor country lane called Heathrow Road in the ancient parish of Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England, on the outskirts of what is now Greater London. Its buil ...
were obliterated: see Heathrow (hamlet)#Timeline at "After
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
:". *September 2002:: Construction of Terminal 5 began. **Its first stage (which took 18 months) was the Twin Rivers Diversion Scheme, diverting the
Longford River The Longford River is an artificial waterway, a distributary designed to embellish a park, that diverts water from the River Colne at Longford near Colnbrook in England, to Bushy Park and Hampton Court Palace. Its main outlet is to the re ...
and the
Duke of Northumberland's River The Duke of Northumberland's River or D. O. N. River consists of separate upper and lower artificial watercourses in west London, United Kingdom. The older name Isleworth Mill Stream/River more accurately describes the economic motivation behi ...
around the western perimeter of the airport, and realigning the A3044 dual carriageway and the Western Perimeter Road. *2003: The army is again briefly deployed to Heathrow, as in 1974but this time under the orders of the Prime Minister,
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of t ...
. Again, the reasons given relate to terrorismspecifically, intelligence of an "extremely probable" terrorist attackwhich, however, never happened in the event. *2005: Runway 23, a short runway for use in strong south-westerly winds, was decommissioned. It is now part of a
taxiway A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with aprons, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, although smaller general aviation airports sometimes use gravel ...
. *2005: The Eastern Extension of Terminal 1 opened. *2006: The new £105 million Pier 6 was completed at Terminal 3 in order to accommodate the
Airbus A380 The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...
superjumbo, and provided four new aircraft stands. Other modifications costing in excess of £340 million were also carried out across the airfield in readiness for the Airbus A380. * From 7 January 2005 to 17 September 2006: The underground railway loop via Heathrow Terminal 4 was closed to connect a spur line to
Heathrow Terminal 5 station Heathrow Terminal 5 is a shared railway and London Underground station serving Heathrow Terminal 5. It serves as a terminus for Heathrow Express services to Paddington, and for Elizabeth line and London Underground Piccadilly line services t ...
. Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3 was again a terminus. Shuttle buses served Terminal 4 from Hatton Cross bus station. Briefly in summer 2006, the line terminated at Hatton Cross and shuttle buses also ran to Terminals 1, 2, 3 while the track configuration and tunnels there were altered for work on the Terminal 5 link. *18 May 2006: The first A380 test flight to Heathrow arrived. *21 April 2007: A new high £50 million air traffic control tower entered service, and was officially opened by Secretary of State for Transport
Douglas Alexander Douglas Garven Alexander (born 26 October 1967) is a Labour politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Paisley and Renfrewshire South, previously Paisley South, from 1997 until his defeat in 2015. During this time, he served as ...
on 13 June 2007. The tower was designed by the
Richard Rogers Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside (23 July 1933 – 18 December 2021) was a British architect noted for his modernist and Functionalism (architecture), functionalist designs in high-tech architecture. He was a senior partner a ...
partnership and is the tallest air traffic control tower in the United Kingdom. *November 2007: A consultation process began for building a new third runway and a sixth terminal. *14 March 2008:
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
opened Terminal 5. *18 March 2008: Following delays in the A380's production, the first A380 in scheduled passenger service, Singapore Airlines Flight 380 with registration number 9V-SKA, touched down from Singapore carrying 470 passengers, marking the first ever European commercial flight by the A380. *27 March 2008:: Terminal 5 opened to passengers.
Heathrow Terminal 5 station Heathrow Terminal 5 is a shared railway and London Underground station serving Heathrow Terminal 5. It serves as a terminus for Heathrow Express services to Paddington, and for Elizabeth line and London Underground Piccadilly line services t ...
opened. *2008: Terminal 2B started being constructed. *2009: The Queen's Building was demolished. *15 January 2009: New 3rd runway & 6th terminal controversially approved by UK government ministers. *29 October 2009: British Airways vacated Terminal 4 and moved to Terminal 5. *November 2009: The first stage of building Terminal 2B completed. *23 November 2009: The old Terminal 2 closed.


2010s

*2010: Terminal 5's second satellite building was completed. *12 May 2010: Third runway and 6th terminal cancelled by the new government after an election. *Summer 2010: The old Terminal 2 was demolished. *October 2010: The second phase of building Terminal 2B started. *20 May 2011: Terminal 5C opened unofficially. *1 June 2011: Terminal 5C opened officially. * February 2012: Construction starts on a temporary new terminal at a staff car park to accommodate the rush of about 7,000 athletes and their non-competing followers leaving when the
2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
ended. Described as being "the area of 3 Olympic sized
swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...
s", it seemed to be made of plastic sheeting on metal posts. After check-in, the passengers were bussed to departures of the permanent terminals where their flights were to depart from. Some of their luggage was checked in at their hotels. * September 2012: The
Airports Commission The Airports Commission was an independent commission established in September 2012 by the Government of the United Kingdom to consider how the UK can "maintain its status as an international hub for aviation and immediate actions to improve t ...
is founded to consider how best to address the longstanding shortage of airport capacity in the South East of England, particularly hub airport capacity. The chief options under consideration were to build a third runway at Heathrow, to expand
Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after ...
, or the Mayor of London Boris Johnson's suggestion of a
Thames Estuary Airport A potential Thames Estuary Airport has been proposed at various times since the 1940s. London's existing principal airports, Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, are each sub-optimally located in various ways, such as being too close to built-up area ...
. These were generally assumed to be mutually exclusive options, although in 2015 the chief executive of the London Chamber of Commerce recommended expanding both Heathrow ''and'' Gatwick, with Heathrow expansion as the first priority. * 2013: The original 1950s red-brick control tower was demolished to enable access roads for the new Terminal 2 to be laid. * December 2013: The Airports Commission delivers its interim report. *4 June 2014: New Terminal 2 opens to passengers * November 2014: The large radar located near Terminal 1 was dismantled. * June 2015: Terminal 1 was closed and demolished in order to allow a second stage of Terminal 2's expansion. The last flights were on 29 June and the terminal closed permanently on 30 June. * July 2015: The
Airports Commission The Airports Commission was an independent commission established in September 2012 by the Government of the United Kingdom to consider how the UK can "maintain its status as an international hub for aviation and immediate actions to improve t ...
's Final Report on the expansion of airport capacity in the South East of England recommends Heathrow expansion. Controversy arose as statutory exceedances (legal overshoots) in
air pollution Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different type ...
are forecast beside some motorways and parts of the Bath Road and many more homes impacted by aircraft noise than Gatwick. The Commission opined that any increase in such pollution, if extensively mitigated, should be no bar because there were more populous pockets of London where the pollution levels were currently even worse. Prime Minister David Cameron chaired a
Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...
committee to consider the report. The committee excluded prominent disapproving Cabinet members who were critical of Heathrow expansion, prompting further controversy. The justification for excluding these ministers was that, having previously set out their opinions, they had a conflict of interest. The Conservative
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
for Richmond Park (heavily centred on a main landing path) and former editor of ''
The Ecologist ''The Ecologist'' is a British environmental journal, then magazine, that was published from 1970 to 2009. Founded by Edward Goldsmith, it addressed a wide range of environmental subjects and promoted an ecological systems thinking approach thr ...
'' magazine,
Zac Goldsmith Frank Zacharias Robin Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith of Richmond Park, (born 20 January 1975) is a British politician, life peer and journalist serving as Minister of State for Overseas Territories, Commonwealth, Energy, Climate and Environment s ...
, who in July 2015 and polled runner up for 2016-2020 Mayor of London, had vowed to resign his seat in Parliament and against his own party, if Heathrow expansion plans were to be approved by the Government. *26 October 2016: Heathrow is chosen over Gatwick as the preferred place to build a new runway. Goldsmith resigned and was re-elected at the next General Election as an expansion-critical Conservative. *2019: Second phase of the new Terminal 2 complete.


2020s

*2020: the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
hit the aviation and tourism industry hard; the airport announced that from 6 April the airport would switch to single-runway operation. It was reported that some 200 homeless people had moved to using Heathrow Airport, as some of the London amenities they were used to using were closed due to the UK lockdown.


Plans for future


Historic images of Heathrow

File:Heathrow Before World War II Map.jpg, Map of Heathrow and around from the late 1930s File:Heathrow 1948.jpg, Map, of 1948, showing the Passenger Aircraft apron next to Harlington Corner, in throwback style showing it east of The Magpies, a 15th century to early 20th century locality of the Bath Road but sometimes named part of
Heathrow Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...
but omitting mention of Sipson Green which was more populous next to it. File:L-749A Constellation N6022C TWA Heathrow 09.54.jpg, TWA
Lockheed Constellation The Lockheed Constellation ("Connie") is a propeller-driven, four-engined airliner built by Lockheed Corporation starting in 1943. The Constellation series was the first pressurized-cabin civil airliner series to go into widespread use. Its press ...
arriving at Heathrow North in 1954 File:Boeing 377 N1033V PAA Heathrow 12.9.54.jpg,
Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United State ...
Boeing Stratocruiser arriving at Heathrow North in 1954 File:Fairey Hendon K1695.jpg, The prototype Fairey Night Bomber ''K1695''


References


External links

{{Commons category-inline, History of London Heathrow Airport * Photograph excavations for first runway ca.1944 from Imperial War Museum collection http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205210809 * Research project: The life of Sir Richard Fairey (1887-1956), aircraft designer and industrialist https://www.southampton.ac.uk/history/research/projects/life_of_richard_fairey.page
London Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...