airport growing at its fastest rate in ve
years. In 2017, 78m passengers travelled
through the airport as a result of larger and
fuller aircraft. Cargo volumes also increased
by 10.2%, promoting more British trade
growth and making our airport one of the
fastest growing European hubs for cargo.”
He added: “We’re proud to have achieved
all of this while delivering outstanding
service for our passengers, as the airport
was named ‘Best Airport in Western Europe’
for the third year running and ‘Best Airport
for Shopping’ for the eighth year running in
the Skytrax World Airport Awards.” Terminal
2 was also recently named World’s Best
Airport Terminal at the 2018 Skytrax World
Airport Awards.
Growth is being spurred by airlines
from all over the world wanting to serve
the airport. The addition of carriers has
continued this year, said Holland-Kaye:
“At the end of March 2018, Heathrow was
delighted to have Cobalt Air begin services
to Cyprus, joining the 81 airlines that operate
out of our airport. In 2017, we welcomed
Flybe services to Edinburgh and Aberdeen
and Beijing Capital Airlines ying to Qingdao.
“With Heathrow operating at its planning
cap, it is very hard for new airlines to get
slots,” he acknowledged. “We have over 30
airlines that want to start or grow operations
at Heathrow, which can bring competition
and choice for passengers. Through our
expansion programme, we are working on
an increase in the planning cap from 2021
and the new runway from 2025 will allow us
to add more domestic routes and up to 40
new long-haul destinations, to Asia, Africa
and the Americas.”NEW DESTINATIONS
Although the planning cap may have thwarted
some airline services, the airport has been
able to squeeze in some new destinations
this year. Hainan Airlines started a three
times weekly ight to Changsha on March 23
using a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. This will be
upgraded to the larger 787-9 from September- Tianjin Airlines is due to introduce a service
to Xi’an in May own by an Airbus A330-200
(the start date has yet to be announced).
Meanwhile, Beijing Capital Airlines has
converted the charter route to Qingdao to
scheduled from March 26 (also own by an
A330-200).
Some airlines have upgraded services
with the latest aircraft types in their eets and
in some cases have added capacity, such
as when A380s are placed on a route. In
January, Malaysia Airlines ew its inaugural
A350-900 service from Kuala Lumpur while
in early February, Asiana began daily A350
ights from Seoul Incheon airport.
As well as numerous services to the Far
East, HAL has another link. In 2016, the
company signed a collaboration agreement
with Airport Authority Hong Kong with a
view to working together on a range of
projects. Some fruits of the agreement are
already being delivered, Holland-Kaye said:
“We’re very proud of this partnership, which
allows both airports to share their expertise
and experience. We are similar-sized hub
airports, with a strong passenger service
ethos, a very commercial culture, and
addressing the challenges of operating atcapacity while building new runways.
“We work together on projects including
airport operations, contingency planning,
passenger service, future terminal design
and the opportunities to be gained from
expansion. We have also had a number of
management secondments, where some
of our future leaders have a chance to get
in-depth experience of how a different airport
team tackles familiar problems.”
Looking ahead, overcoming the hurdles
to the third runway project will be HAL’s
biggest challenge in the next few years.
HAL Director of Communications, Nigel
Milton, was keen to stress the bigger picture
when he said in a commentary piece for
Business Travel News: “It’s important not to
forget the reason we’re expanding Heathrow.
It is about more than just a runway. It is
about opportunities for our local community,
inside and outside the airport’s boundary. It
is about securing the country’s economy and
connecting the whole of the UK to global
growth. And it is about legacy – building
the infrastructure today that our children will
need for tomorrow.”http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 25An artist’s impression of Heathrow showing one of the options for the third runway and associated terminal. LHR Airports LimitedExpanding Heathrow could double cargo capacity, much of which would be carried as belly freight
on passenger ights. Pure freighters, such as this CargoLogicAir Boeing 747-8F, also contribute a
signi cant amount to the airport’s cargo gures. David Dyson/LHR Airports Limited20-25_heathrowDC.mfDC.mfDC.indd 25 06/04/2018 15:13