London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow (IATA: LHR, ICAO: EGLL), located in the London Borough of Hillin...
London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow (IATA: LHR, ICAO: EGLL), located in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the largest and busiest airport in the United Kingdom. It is the worlds third busiest airport for passenger traffic and it handles the most international passenger traffic in the world. Heathrow is owned and operated by BAA, which also owns and operates six other UK airports. BAA is itself owned by an international consortium led by the Spanish Ferrovial Group. Heathrow is the primary hub of British Airways, BMI and Virgin Atlantic. Located 12 NM (22 km; 14 mi) west of Central London, England, Heathrow originally was designed to have six runways in three pairs spaced approximately 120 degrees apart but now has just two parallel main runways running east-west and five terminals. The site covers 12.14 square kilometres (4.69 sq mi). Terminal 5 was officially opened by H.M. Queen Elizabeth II on 14 March 2008 and opened to passengers on 27 March 2008. Construction of Heathrow East, to replace Terminal 2 and The Queens Building, began in 2009, and is expected to be completed by early 2014. Terminals 3 and 4 will also be refurbished during this period. In November 2007 a consultation process began for the building of a new third runway and was controversially[8] approved on 15th January 2009 by UK Government ministers. Heathrow Airport has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P527) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction. Heathrow is located 12 NM (22 km; 14 mi) west of central London, England, near the southern end of the London Borough of Hillingdon. The airport stands on a parcel of land that was designated part of the London Metropolitan Green Belt. To the north, the airport is surrounded by the built-up areas of Harlington, Harmondsworth, Longford and Cranford. To the east are Hounslow and Hatton, and to the south are East Bedfont and Stanwell. To the west, the M25 motorway separates the airport from Colnbrook in Berkshire. The airports location to the west of London, and the east-west orientation of its runways, means that airliners usually approach to land directly over the city. Other leading European airports, such as those at Madrid, Frankfurt and Paris, are located north or south of their cities, in order to minimise the overflying problem. Another disadvantage of the site is that it is low-lying, at 83 feet (25 m) above sea level, and can be prone to fog. Heathrow is one of six airports serving the London area, along with Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Southend and City although only Heathrow and City Airports are located within Greater London.
