Heathrow Airport

"Heathrow" and "LHR" redirect here. For other uses, see Heathrow (disambiguation) and LHR (disambiguation).

London Heathrow Airport
IATA: LHR ICAO: EGLL WMO: 03772
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner/Operator	Heathrow Airport Holdings
Serves	London
Location	Hillingdon, London, England
Opened	25 March 1946 (1946-03-25)
Hub for	British Airways Virgin Atlantic
Built	1929 (1929)
Elevation AMSL	83 ft (25 m)
Coordinates	51°28′39″N 000°27′41″W
Website	heathrow.com
Maps
LHR/EGLL Location within Greater London LHR/EGLL Location within England LHR/EGLL Location within the United Kingdom LHR/EGLL Location within Europe
Interactive map of London Heathrow Airport
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 09L/27R 3,902 12,802 Asphalt 09R/27L 3,660 12,008 Asphalt
Statistics (2024)
Passengers 83,859,729 Rank (world) 7th Aircraft movements 473,965 Cargo (tonnes) 1,536,385
Sources: CAA, Heathrow Airport Holdings

London Heathrow Airport (IATA: LHR, ICAO: EGLL) – named London Airport until 1966 – is the primary and largest 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, Stansted, Luton, City, and Southend).

The airport is owned and operated by Heathrow Airport Holdings. In 2025, Heathrow was the busiest airport in Europe, the fifth-busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic and the second-busiest airport in the world by international passenger traffic. Heathrow was the airport with the most international connections in the world in 2024.

Heathrow was founded as a small airfield in 1930 but was developed into a much larger airport after World War II. It lies 14 miles (23 km) west of Central London on a site that covers 4.74 square miles (12.3 km²). 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.