The Heathrow Airline Operators’ Committee (AOC), Arora Group, International Airlines Group (IAG), and Virign Atlantic have come together to launch Heathrow Reimagined: A Better Hub for Britain. Originally introduced in early 2025, the campaign continues to address what they see as issues with Heathrow’s current regulatory model and infrastructure. The campaign calls on the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to conduct an urgent and fundamental review of Heathrow, the UK’ only hub airport.
Heathrow Under Scrutiny: Growing Needs for Urgent Regulatory Reform
Heathrow is now the most expensive airport in the world, with passengers and airlines paying more for a declining experience and ageing infrastructure. The airport’s price hiking meant that in 2024, passengers and airlines paid £1.1 billion more than if Heathrow’s charges were in line with other major European airports. Although this doesn’t immediately indicate a better experience as the airport has dropped out of the Skytrax list of top 20 international airports for passenger experience, with surveys labelling the hub “the most stressful (airport) in Europe”.
A spokesperson for the Heathrow Reimagined campaign said:
“Over 1,300 flights were cancelled at the UK’s only hub airport leading to disruption for thousands of passengers. NESO highlights the lack of resilience and operational continuity, including known vulnerabilities in Heathrow’s private internal electrical distribution network. This is another example of Heathrow’s lack of operational resilience which is incentivised and enabled by a flawed regulatory framework. NESO’s findings support our urgent call for a fundamental review of Heathrow’s economic regulatory model by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).”
As the UK’s only hub airport, Heathrow is vital to the economy, jobs, and global connectivity, but it is underperforming. Without reform, future expansion (like a third runway) risks locking in higher charges and inefficiencies for decades.
A Little More on Heathrow Airport
Heathrow airport handled around 84 million passengers in 2024, a record-breaking figure which is 4.7 million more than in 2023 and 3 million more than the previous annual record in 2019, before the pandemic.
The airport also predicts an increase to 84.2 million passengers this year, 2025.
Heathrow Airport stands as the UK’s largest single-site employer, with over 76,000 people working directly on-site. When including those in supporting industries and across the broader supply chain, the total number of jobs linked to the airport rises to more than 114,000.
Heathrow Airport is rapidly growing as a hub in Europe although the infrastructure doesn’t have the capability to sustain this. Let us know what you think below!
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