Heathrow Airport will fall behind rival hubs in the East should it fail to pursue plans for a third runway, the boss of Istanbul Airport has said.
In an interview with City A.M. Selahattin Bilgen argued the Hounslow hub had “limited capacity” compared to Istanbul and may need to jack up airport charges to bring in more cash. It has in the past been embroiled in spats with airlines over the level it can set the levy, with both the UK’s competition and aviation watchdogs wading in.
“I agree if Heathrow does not invest in the third runway, this will limit its growth and, by the way, that turns into the airport charges. So the less efficient you operate, the higher you have to increase the airport charges.
“It’s already much [more] expensive than its competitors right now. So it has a limited capacity [and] it has to use it in the best way. So the return is increasing the airport charges and that makes it less competitive.”
His comments come after the boss of Dubai Airport, who is also the former head of Gatwick, warned in March that Heathrow had “lost its status” as a key hub for transfer flights due to capacity issues that could be solved by its long delayed expansion plans.
The airport has also faced significant backlash over its infrastructure in the last month, with Sir Tim Clark, the boss of Emirates comparing it to a run down Second World War airport.
Asked whether Heathrow was slipping behind competitors in the Middle East and Istanbul, Bilgen told City A.M. “it’s already happening in my opinion”.
“You know, I mentioned that Istanbul Airport is currently number one in Europe with respect to traffic movements, and if this trend continues, we will also be the number one in terms of passenger numbers in a very few years as well.”
He noted the Turkish airport’s pursuit of its own infrastructure expansion. The largest of Turkey’s two international hubs, Istanbul has pledged a “year of investments” in 2024 as it bids to hit a passenger target of 85m, a figure that would take it ahead of Heathrow’s 82m.
Part of the plans include the implementation of what would be the first triple parallel runway operation in Europe. “In Istanbul, our third runway provides excess capacity in peak hours and also decreases the turnaround times of aircraft. So that also makes it operationally more efficient than [our] competitor Heathrow.”
The future of Heathrow’s embattled third runway plans, meanwhile, are still uncertain amid a general election and reports it may look to focus on more modest means of boosting capacity instead.
The debate over the current prospects of the UK’s largest airport falls against a backdrop of booming demand for travel, which has been fuelled in recent years by so-called pent up demand following years of Covid lockdowns.
But amid the rebound, the Middle East and Far East are emerging as major drivers of traffic, putting airports in Europe at a greater disadvantage than in the past.
Asia-Pacific airlines posted a 126.1 per cent rise in full-year international traffic in 2023, according to IATA, compared with a a 22 per cent climb for European carriers.
Air traffic’s “centre of gravity” has shifted eastward, Bilgen said. “So in the past London was in the middle of that movement. But now Istanbul and Dubai and Qatar are more near to the centre.”
“Istanbul has an advantage in geography. It’s more on the way to several destinations, you can reach more than 300 destinations in less than five hours of flight. It’s a huge advantage.”
A Heathrow spokesperson said: “Heathrow is the world’s most connected international airport, serves more passengers than any other European hub and, as the UK’s most valuable port, we enable hundreds of billions of pounds of trade every year.
“We agree that securing longer-term growth at Heathrow will be key to protecting those benefits and the UK’s future prosperity.”