Heathrow is one of the UK’s most important economic assets. It is the busiest international airport in the world and plays a unique role as the UK’s only hub airport. Find out more about why a hub airport is important.

Heathrow’s route network stretches around the world, with 90 airlines serving more than 180 destinations.  Two-thirds of all long-haul routes in the UK depart from Heathrow and seven out of the top ten business routes in the world have Heathrow at one end. This means business people know they can fly where they want to, when they want to direct from Heathrow – this helps to make the UK a very attractive place to do business. Heathrow acts as Britain’s gateway to the global economy and provides access to markets and customers around the world. 

It is also an economic powerhouse in its own right – with more than 72,000 people directly employed onsite, it is the biggest single-site employer in the UK. Another 100,000 jobs depend upon the airport. A third runway would create around 50,000 construction jobs and a further 10,000 airport jobs. 

You can find out more about Heathrow’s economic benefits.

But the problem is that Heathrow is full. Its two runways operate at 99% capacity which means the slightest problem – heavy rain, fog or head-winds – can result in serious delays. It has no resilience, no flexibility. By comparison Paris has four runways, Amsterdam five, Frankfurt three, with a fourth approved and due to open in 2011. All operate with plenty of spare capacity and so are better able to cope with problems. They have fewer delays and are able to offer more destinations as a result. 

Since 1990, Heathrow’s list of destinations has dropped from over 220 to around 180 - until Heathrow is permitted additional capacity, airlines will understandably make the rational, economic decision to focus the limited slots available to them on the most profitable routes. Heathrow, Britain’s only hub airport, now offers 50 less destinations than Amsterdam, 60 less than Paris and 100 less than Frankfurt - in the longer-term, Britain's economy will suffer from not being able to offer direct, global air links to cities in the growing economies of India, China and the Middle East.

Expanding Heathrow is understandably controversial but the right long-term strategic decision must be taken for the sake of the UK economy. If we do nothing the result is easy to predict: further relative decline in the number of destinations, and the frequency of flights from Heathrow at a time when the emerging economies are becoming more and more important. If Heathrow is to stay in the global league, then a third runway is vital to keep it, and by extension the UK, competitive. 

If you would like to know more about the case for growth and who supports a third runway, please visit the Future Heathrow website.
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