London Heathrow has issued another plea to be allowed to build a third runway after being overtaken by Istanbul Airport as Europe’s busiest hub.
The UK airport fell behind Istanbul in January when it catered for 6.5 million passengers compared with Istanbul’s 6.9 million travellers. Heathrow only narrowly stayed ahead of Istanbul during 2025.
In a statement, Heathrow said it was now operating at full capacity and this was “limiting choice for passengers and stifling competition”.
“Expansion will add new routes, introduce more choice and in turn lower fares,” added Heathrow. “Our plans will ensure the country gets the infrastructure it needs to stay competitive and will deliver all-important economic growth.”
While the UK government last year decided to support the building of a third runway at Heathrow, the £49 billion project faces considerable planning and legal hurdles before construction gets the green light. The new runway will not be operational until the mid-2030s at the earliest.
Heathrow has also announced a record-breaking performance in February when it catered for 5.8 million passengers, which was a 1.9 per cent rise compared with February 2025 and was achieved by airlines using “larger and fuller” aircraft. Overall passenger traffic for the first two months of 2026 at Heathrow was up by 2.1 per cent year-on-year to 12.3 million travellers.
This month’s passenger figures are set to be impacted by the outbreak of war in the Middle East, with Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye adding that the airport was focused on supporting passengers during the ongoing crisis.
“We continue to monitor the situation closely and stand ready to minimise the operational impact and assist our airline partners as they navigate this challenging operational environment,” said Woldbye in a statement.