Summary
- One aviation executive warned that airlines could look for alternatives if growth options at London Heathrow Airport (LHR) are limited.
- For decades, the UK, LHR, and the other stakeholders have been debating about a third runway at LHR.
- The latest slot regulation document showed that there will be no flight movement growth from/to LHR during the upcoming Winter season.
Philipp Joeinig, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Menzies Aviation, a provider of various aviation services, including ground handling services, was skeptical about the future success of London Heathrow Airport (LHR) if the airport does not expand its runway infrastructure.
Look for alternatives
Joeinig, who was interviewed by the London, United Kingdom-based outlet City A.M., stated that airlines would begin looking for alternatives for LHR if the airport could not cope with the projected growth of the British aviation industry. The CEO also added that a third runway for LHR was a must, especially if it wants to remain a major international hub.
Photo: BasPhoto | Shutterstock
According to Joeining, the bureaucratic processes in Europe and the UK can drag on, while things can get done much quicker in other regions of the world. As such, with Joeinig urging the regulatory environment to become more business-friendly, the executive noted that this would provide more benefits for people working on critical infrastructure projects.
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Case for a third runway at LHR
Discussions for a third runway at LHR have been going on for decades. When the UK government launched an inquiry regarding whether Terminal 5 should be built at the airport in 1995, BAA, the parent company of LHR, now known as Heathrow Airport Holdings Limited, asked the local inspector to recommend to the government to build the terminal, which would result in there being no need for a third runway or increasing noise or night flight limits, according to a report by the BBC.
Photo: EQRoy | Shutterstock
However, in May 2003, British Airways published a paper on the future development of aviation in southeast England, which includes London and its airports. In the paper, the airline outlined that there was an overwhelming case to develop LHR’s infrastructure and that adding a short runway at the airport by 2011 would ensure the competitiveness of the UK’s aviation hub until at least 2030.
“The new runway would be used for short-haul flights, including restored UK regional services, to free up capacity on the main runways for long-haul growth.”
LHR itself published its latest consultation document in June 2019. There, the airport outlined that the UK government set up an Independent Airports Commission in 2012, with the process dragging on to this day, and that its existing runways are full and have been for over a decade.
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Capacity shortages
In December 2023, the UK government, namely the Department for Transport (Dft), published a consultation paper outlining potential slot regulation reforms since the UK was free of EU regulation from June 2026. While the DfT has looked to address barriers for new entrants, as it wanted to facilitate competition at the UK’s airport, the Department provided a grim conclusion: “In 2022, 12 slots at Heathrow Airport were allocated to new entrants from the pool out of a total of 152,613 summer slots available at the airport.” However, DfT did not mention that in Summer 2022, incumbent airlines received only four slots.
Photo: Emirates
According to the latest coordination report from Airport Coordination Limited (ACL) for the Winter 2024/2025 season, there was a demand for 221,986 slots at LHR, 202,798 of which were allocated. However, only 182,140 were cleared, meaning that LHR’s capacity would stay flat year-on-year (YoY).
Detailing why the slots were not cleared, ACL indicated that 19,778 (or 95.7%) of the slots that were not approved by the coordinator were due to runway constraints. Terminal constraints resulted in a further 858 (4.2%) slots being disapproved, while the remaining 22 (0.1%) were thrown out due to arrival and/or departure turnaround feasibility.
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