#heathrow

#heathrow

Heathrow's passenger numbers dipped by 5.3% last month, with the airport's chief executive citing the conflict in the Middle East as the main reason. The west London airport said about 6.7 million passengers travelled through Heathrow in April, compared with 7.1 million during the same month last year. Heathrow said the decline reflected "the ongoing impact of the Middle East conflict on some markets and shortterm adjustments to travel plans".

The closure of Heathrow tunnel has caused huge delays for motorists travelling along the M4. It has also affected access to Heathrow Airport's terminals 2 and 3. Traffic is heavily congested on the M4 Heathrow Spur and the A4 Bath Road; eight bus routes are also on diversion. Motorists are being warned to plan ahead as disruption looks to continue throughout the morning. Follow below for live updates...

Dumped fridges, a felled tree left to rot, and household waste floating in the breeze perhaps not what a tourist would expect to see when they arrive in London, after leaving its most famous airport. But that's exactly what greets people as they drive past Heathrow's northern perimeter on their way towards Central London. Last week I headed out to Harlington near Hayes to interview residents, after hearing things were getting out of hand with fly-tipping in their cul-de-sac.

In February the transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, said she was minded to approve its second runway plan, after planning inspectors initially recommended refusal. However, she outlined potential conditions, including making most passengers take the train rather than a car to the airport, which Gatwick only partly agreed to accept. Gatwick said it still needs time to examine the small print of the decision, announced five weeks ahead of the deadline, but which appears to reframe public transport quotas as targets rather than binding.

Police have arrested a man on suspicion of bringing teargas into Heathrow airport, which caused Terminal 4's check-in area to briefly shut down. The check-in area at the UK's main international airport was evacuated for around three hours on Monday evening as emergency services probed a potential hazardous materials incident. A Metropolitan police spokesperson said a 57-year-old man was arrested after urgent inquiries on suspicion of possession of a firearm (CS spray) and causing a public nuisance.

One of the four terminals at London's Heathrow Airport that was evacuated earlier on Monday over what emergency services called a "possible hazardous materials incident" has now reopened after it was declared safe, the airport said in an update. Heathrow - Europe's busiest airport - apologised for the disruption, saying on social media platform X that it was "doing everything we can" to ensure all flights depart as planned.

Now, just Delta and Norse Atlantic will operate from there and the reduced number of carriers is expected to have a huge knock-on effect for holidaymakers in south London, Sussex and Kent. Fares at Gatwick are likely to be pushed up, especially around peak periods, last-minute bookings and premium leisure dates. Heathrow, by contrast, will stay highly competitive with BA, American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Delta running New York shuttles.

On the day it opened, the first train, a six-car 1973 tube stock, arrived at the new terminus, driven by Instructor/Driver Danny Woodward and accompanied by the London Underground's Chief Operating Officer, Mr J Graeme Bruce.

The aircraft returned to Heathrow as a standard precaution after reports of a technical issue. The flight landed safely with crew and customers disembarking as they normally would, and our teams worked hard to get their journeys back on track as soon as possible.

Unite's strike is driven by a pay dispute, with members at Heathrow earning 10% less than their Gatwick counterparts, impacting essential mobility services.