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Heathrow Airport has unveiled a £10 billion investment plan to expand capacity over the next five years, aiming to handle an extra 10 million passengers by 2031. The plan forms the core of the airport’s 20272031 business proposal, which was submitted to the Civil Aviation Authority on Friday. Writing in The Standard, Heathrow Chief Executive Thomas Woldbye said the changes would include new lounges, restaurants and shops, as well as faster security and baggage handling. ‘For an average airport charge of £33.26 lower in real terms than a decade ago we’ll unlock space for 10 million more passengers, grow cargo capacity by 20% and upgrade nearly every part of the passenger journey,’ he said. That means faster security, smoother baggage handling, more comfortable terminals, new lounges, restaurants and shops all while delivering a better service for the growing number of passengers who need assistance.‘ Heathrow is Europe’s busiest airport, with more than 83.9 million passengers travelling through its terminals in 2024. Woldbye said the airport would cut carbon emissions by three million tonnes or 15% of its 2024 footprint in the next five years. ‘Heathrow is not where we’d want it to be in the global rankings. We’ve shown we can improve, becoming Europe’s most punctual major airport this year,’ he said. ‘But to move up, we must invest. Other countries have modernised their hubs, the UK hasn’t the risk of doing nothing is decline.’ Heathrow on Friday announced it handled 7.4 million passengers in June, down 1.0% on-year. Notably, North America routes were down 3.3% to 1.9 million passengers, while EU routes were up 1.6% to 2.6 million passengers. Middle East routes were down 5.9% to 634,000 passengers, while Latin America routes were down 3.8% to 164,000 passengers. In the first half of 2025, the airport had 39.9 million passengers, up 0.2%. In the 12 months to the end of June 2025, Heathrow handled 83.9 million passengers, up 2.5% on-year. By Jessica Coates Press Association: Finance source: PA Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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