Passengers are increasingly choosing to fly through other international airports. Heathrow airport the traditional transit route of airport for most travellers is no longer an attractive choice, thanks to congestion and lack of new routes. Heathrow airport, could very well be losing its prestigious position as market leader in long haul connecting flights. Researchers have found that passengers in the UK’s south east, those far beyond reach of Heathrow and Gatwick, are more likely to catch connecting flights in Amsterdam and Dubai to avoid the inconveniences at Heathrow airport.
While Heathrow still remains the largest airport for connecting from UK to North America and Middle East, it is slowly losing to competition for the long haul market segment. Above 25% of travellers from regions far from south east England use Amsterdam for their long- haul flights, 20% use France’s Charles da Gaulle airport and only 16 % use Heathrow airport to catch their connecting flights. Approximately 40% of passengers from UK to Asia-Pacific use Dubai International airport for their long-haul flights compared to 14.5% who use Schiphol airport in Amsterdam and 14.5% at Heathrow. Dubai international airport is the most preferred airport when travelling to Russia, China, India and Brazil. Heathrow airport is only the most popular hub for UK travellers flying to North America.
Although the researchers query how practical an expansion at Heathrow airport is in Lieu of these findings, it is also notable that expansion is needed, if Heathrow is to reclaim its position as the worlds most preferred travel hub to destinations across the world. The study comes at a time where the Airports commission is I the final stages of evaluating proposals for expansion between Gatwick airport and Heathrow airport. Both airports are all out in spending, to lobby and market their respective bids.