London's Airport Runways: How Many Take-Off Strips?

Heathrow Airport, formerly known as London Airport, is the UK's largest and busiest airport. It is the primary and largest international airport serving London, covering 1,227 hectares. It is one of the busiest airports in Europe, serving 19.4 million passengers in 2021.

The airport has two runways: the Northern Runway, which is 3,902 metres long, and the Southern Runway, which is 3,658 metres long. These two runways are an expansion on the original six runways that were arranged in a hexagram around a single terminal in the 1960s.

Heathrow Airport's runways

Heathrow Airport, the UK's largest and busiest airport, currently has two runways: a Northern Runway and a Southern Runway. Both runways are over 3,500m by 50m and run parallel to each other in an east-west direction. The Northern Runway is 3,902m by 50m, while the Southern Runway is 3,658m by 50m.

Heathrow's runways were not always arranged in this way. In the 1950s, the airport had six runways arranged in three pairs at different angles in the shape of a hexagram, with two runways always within 30 degrees of the wind direction. As runway length requirements increased, Heathrow decommissioned its diagonal runways, with the last one closing in 2003, leaving the current parallel east-west runways in place.

Heathrow Airport is currently in the process of expanding, with plans to add a third full-length runway to the northwest of the airport. The expansion is controversial, with opposition from local residents.

Heathrow's history

Heathrow Airport, also known as London Heathrow Airport, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city in the United Kingdom. It is Britain's busiest airport, serving millions of passengers every year. Here is a detailed history of Heathrow Airport.

The Early Years

Heathrow Airport began in 1929 as a small airfield called Great West Aerodrome on land southeast of the hamlet of Heathrow, from which the airport takes its name. The land, used for farms, market gardens, and orchards, was purchased by British aero-engineer and plane builder Richard Fairey for a private airport to assemble and test aircraft. The airfield was declared operational in June 1930. During World War II, the government requisitioned the airfield for long-distance military aircraft bound for the Far East, and it became known as RAF Heston.

Post-War Development

After the war ended, the UK government continued to develop the site as a civil airport. Heathrow officially opened as a commercial airport on 31 May 1946 and was inaugurated on 25 March 1946. The airport was renamed Heathrow Airport in September 1966 to avoid confusion with Gatwick and Stansted, the other two airports serving London. The original terminals were ex-military marquees that formed a 'tented village' along the Bath Road. In its first operational year, 63,000 passengers travelled through Heathrow. By 1951, this number had increased to 796,000.

Expansion and Modernisation

British architect Sir Frederick Gibberd was appointed to design permanent buildings for the airport. In 1955, Queen Elizabeth II opened the first permanent passenger terminal, the Europa Building (later known as Terminal 2), and the Queens Building. In 1961, Terminal 3, originally named the Oceanic Terminal, opened, featuring the UK's first moving walkways. Terminal 1 opened in 1969, and by then, Heathrow was handling five million passengers annually.

Continued Growth

The opening of Terminal 4 in 1986 and Terminal 5 in 2008 further expanded Heathrow's capacity. Terminal 2 was rebuilt and reopened in 2014 as the Queen's Terminal. Today, Heathrow has four active passenger terminals and more than 200 aircraft stands. It is the busiest airport in Europe and the fourth busiest in the world by passenger traffic, serving 84 airlines and flying to 214 destinations in 84 countries. Heathrow has two runways, the Northern Runway and the Southern Runway, and there are plans to build a third runway to further increase traffic capacity.

Heathrow's terminals

Heathrow Airport, also known as London Heathrow Airport, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, UK. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system. Heathrow has two parallel east-west runways and four operational passenger terminals, numbered 2 to 5, as well as one cargo terminal.

Terminal 2

Also known as the "Queen's Terminal", Terminal 2 was opened in 2014 by Queen Elizabeth II. The terminal is designed to be sustainable, with 124 solar panels on the roof, and became the airport's first terminal to run on green gas in 2018. In 2021, 6.1 million passengers travelled through Terminal 2 on 65,839 flights. Terminal 2 is home to Star Alliance airlines and a few non-aligned airlines. It is also one of the two terminals that operate UK domestic and Irish flights.

Terminal 3

Terminal 3, originally named the Oceanic Terminal, opened in 1961. It housed the UK's first-ever moving walkways. In 2021, 2.8 million passengers travelled through Terminal 3 on 28,288 flights. Terminal 3 is home to Oneworld members, with the exception of Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, and Royal Air Maroc, as well as several long-haul unaffiliated carriers.

Terminal 4

Terminal 4 was opened in 1986 by Prince Charles and Princess Diana. It was originally the home of British Airways before they moved most of their operations to Terminal 5. Terminal 4 is now home to the SkyTeam alliance, with a few exceptions, as well as several Oneworld carriers. In 2021, Terminal 4 saw 513 flights and served 0.002 million passengers.

Terminal 5

Terminal 5, exclusively used by British Airways as its global hub, opened in 2008. Built at a cost of £4.3 billion, the terminal has a four-story main terminal building and two satellite buildings linked by an underground people mover system. In 2021, Terminal 5 served 10.5 million passengers on 92,925 flights.

Heathrow's busiest year

Heathrow Airport, also known as London Heathrow Airport, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, United Kingdom. It is the UK's busiest airport, serving millions of passengers every year.

In 2021, Heathrow served 19.4 million passengers, with an average of 128,178 passengers per day. Of these, 17 million were international, and 2.4 million were domestic. That year, there were 195,340 air transport movements at Heathrow, averaging 536 flights arriving or departing daily.

Heathrow's popularity is evident in its ranking as the fourth busiest airport globally, with 24 routes carrying over a million passengers in 2023. Transatlantic travel remains a key driver for passenger numbers, with New York's JFK Airport being the busiest single destination for Heathrow passengers in 2021.

The airport's continuous growth and expansion plans, including the addition of a third runway, further emphasise its significance in facilitating the UK's global connections and contributing to its economic growth.

Heathrow's busiest destinations

Heathrow Airport, the primary and largest international airport serving London, has two runways, four operational passenger terminals, and one cargo terminal. It is the busiest airport in Britain, serving 19.4 million passengers in 2021.

• New York JFK, USA
• Dublin, Ireland
• Los Angeles, USA
• Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Frankfurt, Germany
• Istanbul, Turkey
• Munich, Germany
• Hong Kong, China
• Toronto, Canada
• Zurich, Switzerland
• San Francisco, USA
• Lisbon, Portugal
• Geneva, Switzerland
• Edinburgh, Scotland
• Dubai, UAE

Heathrow's busiest single destination in passenger numbers in 2021 was New York, with over three million passengers flying between Heathrow and JFK Airport.

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