Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport (/ˌhiːθˈroʊ, ˈhiːθroʊ/), called London Airport until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow (IATA: LHR, ICAO: EGLL), is the main international airport serving London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others being Gatwick, City, Luton, Stansted and Southend). The airport is owned and operated by Heathrow Airport Holdings, owned mostly by FGP and Qatar Investment Authority and CDPQ. In 2022, it was the second-busiest airport in the world by international passenger traffic and the busiest airport in Europe in 2023. It is also the airport with the world's most international connections as of 2023.
Heathrow Airport | |||||||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Owner/Operator | Heathrow Airport Holdings | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Greater London Urban Area | ||||||||||||||
| Location | London Borough of Hillingdon, England, United Kingdom | ||||||||||||||
| Opened | 25 March 1946 | ||||||||||||||
| Hub for | |||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 83 ft / 25 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 51°28′39″N 000°27′41″W | ||||||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
EGLL EGLL EGLL | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2023) | |||||||||||||||
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Sources: CAA, Heathrow Airport Holdings | |||||||||||||||
Heathrow was founded as a small airfield in 1929 but was developed into a much larger airport after World War II. It lies 14 miles (23 kilometres) west of Central London on a site that covers 4.74 square miles (12.3 square kilometres). It was gradually expanded over 75 years and now has two parallel east–west runways, four operational passenger terminals and one cargo terminal. The airport is the primary hub for British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.