London's Heathrow announces airport upgrade
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The investment will go towards improving baggage delivery and projects to support punctual departures and arrivals.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
LONDON - London’s Heathrow Airport on Dec 18 unveiled plans to invest £2.3 billion (S$3.95 billion) over the next two years to upgrade Europe’s busiest airport.
The investment will go towards improving baggage delivery and projects to support punctual departures and arrivals, the company said, as the airport faces booming passenger demand since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The announcement comes days after French private equity group Ardian and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF finalised their acquisition of a nearly 38 per cent stake in Heathrow from Spanish infrastructure giant Ferrovial and other shareholders.
Heathrow, Britain and Europe’s busiest airport by passenger numbers, served a record 39.8 million passengers in the first half of 2024, with demand having more than doubled after the Covid-19 pandemic.
It recently increased its full-year forecast to 83.8 million passengers.
Since the pandemic, Heathrow and European peers have suffered from flight cancellations, delays, long queues and baggage delivery problems.
Earlier in 2024, the airport criticised a decision by the British Civil Aviation Authority which asked Heathrow to reduce fees charged to carriers for 2025 and 2026.
In October, the airport reported a 3.2 per cent fall in revenue for the first nine months of 2024, citing an existing drop in charges.
However, net profit after tax rose nearly eight per cent to £496 million. AFP
