Do you know more than 70 million passengers pass through Heathrow airport every year? That is almost 6 million more than the total population of the UK. And the number of employees at the nation’s busiest airport is nearly equal or more than the population of many towns or cities in Great Britain! Every 45 seconds a flight lands or takes off from Heathrow and the airport’s 6th terminal is reserved only for royals and a few celebrities.

Fascinating Facts and Stats About Heathrow Airport

While millions of people travel through Heathrow airport every month on route to their preferred destinations for holiday and business. However, a few give much thought to the airport itself. As one of the busiest airports in the world, it is worth flying into Heathrow airport at least once in a lifetime. And it is equally good to know this 71-year-old airport that is a vital part of the UK in many folds from history to economy.

Cabhit not only provides best-in-class Heathrow Airport taxi service but also serve you with best of information. So when you land at Heathrow, you feel more acquainted with the most beloved transport hub of the UK.

The Airport at a Glance

  • It is the world’s third and the UK’s busiest airport.
  • Heathrow has 6 terminals but only 5 are open to the public. Terminal 6 is very small and only opened for royals, heads of states and a few celebrities.
  • Terminal 5 with a roof area to the size of five football pitches, is the largest free-standing structure in the UK. At 260 hectares, it is bigger than Hyde Park.
  • Northern Runway of the airport is 2/5 the height of Mount Everest.
  • Breakfast is the most popular meal at this transport hub of the nation.
  • The Cargo centre at the airport transported everything from lions, racehorses, rhinos, sharks to China’s Terracotta Warriors, supercars and parts to NASA’s International Space Station.
  • It just takes7 minutes for a vehicle breakdown on the inbound tunnel of the airport to lead a traffic jam on the M4 that is 15 miles away.

Heathrow Airport by Numbers

The airport that came to life in 1946 was then called London Airport and had flights to only 18 destinations.

On the Runway

  • Today, after 71 years, the numbers have gone many folds with 196 destinations in 82 countries.
  • Approx 206,800 passengers board 1,400 flights per day. You will be amazed to know that only two of the five runways operate those flights.
  • With 75.5 million passengers and the goods valuing at £ 130 billion, the year 2016 was recorded as the busiest year in the airport history. Nearly 64% of the passengers that year travelled for leisure, 36% for business and 32% had connecting flights. 
  • Terminal 5 with 31.9 million passengers and 216,861 flights was the busiest terminal last year.
  • Terminal 5 that process nearly 53 million pieces of luggage per year has 30 miles of baggage conveyors, 2.8 miles of tunnels and 44 baggage reclaim belts.

At the Airport

  • Nearly 81 airlines operate at Heathrow airport with 80 of them fly long haul.
  • The top most popular destinations for Heathrow flyers are New York, Dubai, Dublin, Hong Kong and Frankfurt. Only the US nets 13 million passengers from Heathrow every year.
  • Heathrow to Edinburgh routes carries the maximum number of passengers per year.
  • Terminal 5 with a roof area to the size of five football pitches, is the largest free-standing structure in the UK.
  • The airport employs nearly 76,000 people within its boundaries and a huge number of people outside the terminals earn a livelihood through millions of Heathrow airport transfers every year.
  • Nearly 9.4 million of teacups sipped every year at the airport with 6.4million croissants, 974 tons of chips and 4.5 million rashers of bacon.
  • 5 bottles of perfume sold every minute and every 5 minutes a bottle of Chanel No. 5 is sold duty-free at Heathrow Airport.
  • Approx 28% of passengers travel by taxi to Heathrow.
  • The number of passengers who use private hire vehicles such as Heathrow airport taxis and minicabs for door-to-door transfers has increased significantly in the last couple of years.

Conclusion:

The facts and stats clear why it is important to pre-book your Heathrow taxi. You definitely don’t want to be a part of the crowd waiting at the taxi ranks to hop in a comfortable seat and reach your destinations quickly.

Nor would you want to miss the flight because of the traffic on roads and inconvenience with baggage in trains or tubes. Therefore, hiring a minicab or a taxi is certainly a wise idea for relaxed and fast Heathrow airport transfers.