London Heathrow Airport Research Articles

Travelers' perception of smart airport facilities: An X (Twitter) sentiment analysis

This study investigates travelers' perceptions of smart airport facilities through sentiment analysis. It collected 39,616 comments from thirteen smart airports, and 25,572 tweets were analyzed. Most mentioned words about the smart airport included "technology" and "security". Comments also highlighted concerns about airport customer service, including "bag," "transit," and "disabled." The results also reveal that travelers are more concerned about the outcome of these facilities, such as the efficiency and time management of flights via smart facilities. The most mentioned words in the tweets related to smart airport operations are "flight," "waiting," and "time". Despite most smart facilities being equipped in the airports aiming to raise travelers' satisfaction, the results showed that 12 smart airports' tweets were generally neutral. Smart airport facilities might not add as much value to the airport impression as we expect. Brisbane International Airport was the only one with a positive perception of smart airport facilities. Most travelers mentioned that the airport had faster and better wifi and the airport is continuously improving. In contrast, Charles de Gaulle Airport and London Heathrow Airport had the highest percentage of negative sentiment, with 25.90% and 27.52% of tweets being negative, respectively. Travelers' complained that self-check-in kiosks were a mess, unhelpful staff and poor wifi. The results reveal travelers' concerns regarding smart airport facilities, and they let us know the importance of smart facility management. Smart airport facilities were initially designed to shorten travelers' time and enhance satisfaction, yet unhelpful staff and poor managed kiosks raise dissatisfaction. This study helps airport managers and operators to address the weakest part of smart airports as reflected in social media comments. It also fills the academic voids in examining travelers' satisfaction with smart facilities using social media and sentiment analysis via artificial intelligence.

COVID-19 IMPACT ON THE AIRPORTS’ AND THEIR HOME CARRIERS’ MARKETING STRATEGY

The article is dedicated to the impact of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on the aviation industry and the measures taken by the governments, airports and home carriers to overcome the consequences of the said crisis. Government actions and state aid programs for airports and airlines are reviewed. Practical examples of government aid to airports and airlines are provided. It is also reviewed how these actions affected the performance of the largest European hub airports, namely – London (Heathrow), Istanbul, Paris (Charles de Gaulle), Amsterdam and Madrid. Threats and opportunities for both European airports and airlines are analyzed with the focus on the perspectives of London (Heathrow) airport. The operation of the mentioned airports was analyzed according to the following indicators - the recovery of passenger traffic (2023/2022 and 2023/2019), connectivity, GDP indicators of the countries where the mentioned airports are located. Information on the home carriers of the airports, i.e., the share of the airline's passengers in the total number of passengers handled by the airport, financial indicators of the airlines, plans for the development of the fleet and route network is provided. Recommendations on cooperation between airports and their base airlines are provided.

Health benefits of reducing aircraft pollution: evidence from changes in flight paths

This paper investigates externalities generated by air transportation pollution on health. As a source of exogenous variation, we use an unannounced 5-month trial that reallocated early morning aircraft landings at London Heathrow Airport. Our measure of health is prescribed medications spending on conditions known to be aggravated by pollution, especially sleep disturbances. We observe a significant and substantial decrease in prescribed drugs for respiratory and central nervous system disorders in the areas subjected to reduced air travel between 4:30 am and 6.00 am compared with the control regions. Our findings suggest a causal influence of aviation on health conditions.

Simulating Changes in Aircraft Noise at Heathrow Airport during the 2020 Covid-19 Lockdown

Global restrictions on domestic and international travel introduced in March 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a significant reduction in air traffic movements around the world. This paper presents the findings of research carried out at London Heathrow Airport exploring the day-by-day changes in aircraft noise exposure and event levels over the period March 2020 to June 2020. The research was carried out using validated modelling of aircraft procedures and noise profiles alongside radar data obtained from the airport. This allowed trends in metrics such as LAeq, N65, and overflight to be considered in the form of contours, and at community locations. This was facilitated using geospatial databases and interactive dynamic reporting toolkits. The research has allowed estimates to be made of the point where aircraft noise at Heathrow Airport reached a minimum. It also provides some helpful insight as to the potential of generating daily noise exposure data and the advantages, and disadvantages of modelling using radar data.

Association between aircraft noise levels and deprivation

There is limited evidence on socioeconomic distribution of noise exposure. Noise data (Lden, Laeq24, Lnight, Levening, and Lday) were available for London Heathrow airport for 2014-18. These were linked with different measures of deprivation: the Carstairs deprivation index (UK Census-derived), fuel poverty rate and the avoidable death rate. Using Carstairs, mean noise levels were slightly higher in more deprived areas for most noise metrics, especially for Lnight (~2dB between least and most deprived Carstairs quintiles). However, Leve had slightly lower mean noise levels in the most deprived quintile (~0.5dB difference). A clear pattern of higher mean noise levels with deprivation was seen using avoidable death rates (~4dB difference between lowest and highest quintile for Lnight). Conversely, mean noise levels were slightly lower in more deprived quintiles of fuel poverty. Differences have been further quantified using a random-effects model, accounting for year. Heathrow airport is situated close to highly populated areas, some of which are very wealthy, so may not be representative of other airports. Results will be discussed with community groups near Heathrow prior to Internoise 2022. As air transport increases post-pandemic, information on noise exposures as well as views from community groups can inform future airport policies

‘Where are you?’: (Auto)ethnography of elite passage and (non)-placeness at London Heathrow Airport

Led by the question of where an international airport is placed within the aeromobile experience of kinetic elites, the author took on the role of a Business Class passenger to empirically reflect on the issues of placeness and non-placeness while routinely passing through one of the world’s busiest airports. The author gradually reveals the unique sense of place individual terminals hold, the familiar at-homeness of frequently used passages, the dwelling-in-motion within virtual infrastructures of habit, the ostensible segregation of ‘upper class’ passengers, the multiple placemaking efforts and the importance of specific aeromobile practices in the place-related perception of airports. Applying the concepts of place and mobility jointly in their mutual interconnectedness, this (auto)ethnography points to the hybridity of airport perception within the elite passenger experience, which goes beyond the usual binary of a traditional place and a detached non-place.

Output Targeting and Runway Utilization of Major International Airports: A Comparative Analysis Using DEA

The aviation industry is a prominent contributor to economic development. The existence of an airport hub that provides a worldwide transportation network generates economic growth, creates jobs, and facilitates international trade and tourism. This industry also helps in connecting different continents, countries, and cultures. This study utilizes the Data Envelopment Analysis models Charnes, Cooper, and Rhodes (CCR), Banker, Charnes, and Cooper (BCC), Slacks-Based Measure (SBM), and Epsilon Based Measure (EBM) in analyzing and evaluating the operational performance of the 21 major airports runway design during the years of 2016–2019 using the data of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) air transport statistics. The objective of this paper is to assess the efficiency of various airport runway configurations based on input factors such as number of runways, dimension of runways, airport area, and output factors such as annual number of flights and annual number of passengers. In the four applied models, the results indicated London Heathrow Airport (LHR) and Munich International Airport (MUC) are efficient in utilizing the runway during the considered periods. Surprisingly, airports in the Asian continent with a parallel runway design are more efficient than in North America and Europe. This study can be a valuable reference for operation managers in evaluating and benchmarking the performance of an airport with different types of runway configurations. Moreover, it can be used by decision-makers, investors, stakeholders, policymakers, private companies, and government agencies as a guideline suitable for an airport.

Where is the potential market for Taiwanese carriers to launch new direct flight services in Europe?

Taiwanese carriers face the difficulty in developing European direct flight market due to the air route limitation. Therefore, most passengers fly indirectly and mainly transit via other airports between Taiwan and Europe. In order to extend Taiwan - Europe flight market and improve Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport's (TPE) hub position, this study aims to indicate the potential European direct flight market by analyzing the passenger transfer dependency and further propose the flight frequency through the result of Cost-effectiveness analysis. One of the interesting results shows that passengers heavily rely on Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) for transferring between Taiwan and Europe. In addition, London Heathrow Airport (LHR) is the most profitable destination to launching new direct services. The results of this study provide the practical strategy to increase the connectivity of Taiwan-Europe flight market.

Learning about COVID-19 across borders: public health information and adherence among international travellers to the UK

ObjectivePublic health control measures at borders have long been central to national strategies for the prevention and containment of infectious diseases. Travel was inevitably associated with the rapid global transmission of COVID-19. In the UK, public health authorities tried to reduce the risks of travel-associated spread by providing public health information at ports of entry. This study investigates risk assessment processes, decision-making and adherence to official advice among international travellers, to provide evidence for future policy on the provision of public health information to facilitate safer international travel. Study designThis study is a qualitative study evaluation. MethodInternational air passengers arriving at the London Heathrow Airport on scheduled flights from China and Singapore were approached for interview after consenting to contact in completed surveys. Semi-structured interviews were conducted by telephone, using two topic guides to explore views of official public health information and self-isolation. Interview transcripts were coded and analysed thematically. ResultsParticipants regarded official advice from Public Health England as adequate at the time, despite observing differences with intervention measures implemented in their countries of departure. Most participants also described adopting precautionary measures, including self-isolation and the use of face coverings that went beyond official advice, but reported adherence to guidance on contacting health authorities was more variable. Adherence to the official guidance was informed by the perceived salience of specific transmission possibilities and containment measures assessed in relation to participants’ local social and institutional environments. ConclusionAnalysis of study findings demonstrates that international air travellers' responses to public health advice constitute a proactive process of risk assessment and rationalised decision-making to guide preventive action. This process incorporates consideration of the current living situation, trust in information sources, correspondence with cultural logics and willingness to accept potential risk to self and significant others. Our findings concerning international passengers’ understanding of, and compliance with, official advice and mitigation measures provide valuable evidence to inform future policy and generate recommendations on the presentation of public health information to facilitate safer international travel. Access to a central source of regularly updated official information would help minimise confusion between different national guidelines. Greater attention to the differentiated information needs of diverse groups in creating future public-facing guidance would help to minimise the uncertainties generated by the receipt of generic information.

Investigating the Implications of the London Heathrow Airport Expansion for the Landside Freight Industry

The air cargo industry is hugely important to national economies, trade, and development. Thus far, there has been limited research on the landside freight industry. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to extend the understanding of how alterations in the air cargo industry impact on its landside freight counterpart. It also seeks to explore the potential opportunities and challenges this presents, as well as the measures that can be taken to mitigate unsustainable development for the landside freight industry. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect the views of key stakeholders, freight industry experts, and other professionals. Our findings show that, if the airport expansion went ahead, the opportunities would generally outweigh the challenges. Increased freight activities and other positive spinoffs would result in the long-term. Increased freight activities and employment were the prime positive implications. Conversely, increased delays due to congestion was the main negative implication. Measures suggested to mitigate the adverse effects of the London Heathrow Airport (LHR) expansion entailed strengthening of consolidation centre efforts, freight collaboration, intelligent booking systems, use of low-carbon technologies, smart scheduling for revising the timetabling of deliveries, and greater use of rail transport for air cargo. The research highlights novel insights regarding existing freight-related issues from industry and academic experts, and further thoughts in relation to increased cargo activities stemming from the LHR expansion.

Is Heathrow airport really a localised hot spot?

Location of observing sites mentioned in the text. The extent of London's built-up area is also shown. Base map obtained from OpenStreetMap (www.openstreetmap.org) and Open Street Map Foundation, licensed as CC BY-SA. (© OpenStreetMap contributors.) Daily maximum temperatures observed at London's Heathrow airport are compared with those of other official observing sites around the west and southwest of London to explore how representative Heathrow's temperatures are of the local environment. The frequency with which Heathrow is the warmest place in the UK is found to peak sharply between June and September. However, daily maximum temperatures at all of the London sites are usually similar, particularly at other times of the year.

Place Making in Transit

Spaces of transit and transportation are often thought of as one-dimensional and as defined by their functionality and rationality, but recent literary texts challenge such preconceptions by representing those spaces as multidimensional and meaningful. In this article, we examine literature through the lens of place making, seeking to understand in what ways literary representations are involved in renegotiations of transit space. Addressing two generic spaces of transit—the underground and the airport—we analyze a body of texts generated through initiatives relating to the London Underground and Heathrow Airport respectively. Arguing that literature contributes to a processual understanding of place, we conclude that literary texts should be considered as instances of place making, and thus deserve serious consideration in research.

Public health information on COVID-19 for international travellers: lessons learned from a mixed-method evaluation

ObjectivesIn the containment phase of the response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Public Health England (PHE) delivered advice to travellers arriving at major UK ports. We aimed to rapidly evaluate the impact and effectiveness of these communication materials for passengers in the early stages of the pandemic. Study designThe study design used is the mixed-methods evaluation. MethodsA questionnaire survey and follow-up interviews with passengers arriving at London Heathrow Airport on scheduled flights from China and Singapore. The survey assessed passengers’ knowledge of symptoms, actions to take, and attitudes towards PHE COVID-19 public health information; interviews explored their views of official public health information and self-isolation. ResultsOne hundred and twenty-one passengers participated in the survey and 15 in follow-up interviews. Eighty three percentage of surveyed passengers correctly identified all three COVID-19 associated symptoms listed in PHE information at that time. Most could identify the recommended actions and found the advice understandable and trustworthy. Interviews revealed that passengers shared concerns about the lack of wider official action, and that passengers’ knowledge had been acquired elsewhere as much from PHE. Respondents also noted their own agency in choosing to self-isolate, partially as a self-protective measure. ConclusionPHE COVID-19 public health information was perceived as clear and acceptable, but we found that passengers acquired knowledge from various sources and they saw the provision of information alone on arrival as an insufficient official response. Our study provides fresh insights into the importance of taking greater account of diverse information sources and of the need for public assurance in creating public health information materials to address global health threats.

Evaluation of aircraft emissions at London Heathrow Airport

A study to monitor Ultrafine Particles (UFP) at Heathrow Airport was undertaken in the autumn of 2017. The campaign followed on from a similar study in 2016, which put UFP at the airport into context with nearby measurements. The objective of the 2017 study was to undertake UFP monitoring at higher time resolution (60 second scans) and in a narrower particle size range (6–100 nm). High resolution data from the NOx, PM and Black Carbon analysers on site was also collected during the survey. Measurements were made at the runway station, LHR2 to attempt to characterise individual aircraft using the runway. Nucleation mode particles are again seen to predominantly originate from the airport, with highest concentrations associated with departing aircraft. While there is some correlation of nucleation particles with NOx and BC, these pollutants, together with PM mass and Aitken mode particles, also show strong associations with winds from off-airport directions. There is some evidence that BC emissions from landing aircraft are enriched in UV-active BC (UVPM), most likely as a result of tyre abrasion upon landing. Comparison of UFP measurements with the 2016 survey was not possible because of the differences in configuration of the SMPS for the two surveys. This observation demonstrates the importance of documenting SMPS configuration, to determine if comparison between published data is possible. Analysis of the 1 minute measurement data with associated aircraft departure information was used to group the data by aircraft type. Larger aircraft departing from the runway recorded higher measurements of nucleation particles and NOx compared to smaller aircraft, while emissions of BC, UVPM and NO2 appear to be dependent upon the age of the engine design, rather than the size of the aircraft.

London Heathrow Airport Uses Real-Time Analytics for Improving Operations

Improving airport collaborative decision making is at the heart of airport operations centers (APOCs) recently established in several major European airports. In this paper, we describe a project commissioned by Eurocontrol, the organization in charge of the safety and seamless flow of European air traffic. The project’s goal was to examine the opportunities offered by the colocation and real-time data sharing in the APOC at London’s Heathrow airport, arguably the most advanced of its type in Europe. We developed and implemented a pilot study of a real-time data-sharing and collaborative decision-making process, selected to improve the efficiency of Heathrow’s operations. In this paper, we describe the process of how we chose the subject of the pilot, namely the improvement of transfer-passenger flows through the airport, and how we helped Heathrow move from its existing legacy system for managing passenger flows to an advanced machine learning–based approach using real-time inputs. The system, which is now in operation at Heathrow, can predict which passengers are likely to miss their connecting flights, reducing the likelihood that departures will incur delays while waiting for delayed passengers. This can be done by off-loading passengers in advance, by expediting passengers through the airport, or by modifying the departure times of aircraft in advance. By aggregating estimated passenger arrival time at various points throughout the airport, the system also improves passenger experiences at the immigration and security desks by enabling modifications to staffing levels in advance of expected surges in arrivals. The nine-stage framework we present here can support the development and implementation of other real-time, data-driven systems. To the best of our knowledge, the proposed system is the first to use machine learning to model passenger flows in an airport.

How Has Access to Heathrow Airport Influenced the UK–Russia Air Services Agreement?

Access to London Heathrow Airport has played an integral role in the development of the UK– Russia air services agreement. The entry into force of the original agreement signed in 1957 was delayed by two years due to concerns regarding the noise created by Russian aircraft at Heathrow. Since then, Russia has sought amendments to the agreement to allow Aeroflot to increase its London-Moscow frequencies, in exchange for granting UK carriers permission to operate over Siberian airspace, which is crucial for flights from Heathrow to the Far East to operate efficiently. Russia has only been willing to increase Siberian overflight rights once it has secured slots for Aeroflot at Heathrow, linking the allocation of slots with the granting of rights under the air services agreement. Russia has also sought to protect its carriers from future changes in the UK regulatory framework, such as possible changes in the system of slot allocation, as it could threaten to withdraw Siberia overflight frequencies from UK carriers if it fears that Aeroflot’s position at Heathrow would be weakened. UK, Russia, Brexit, Heathrow, Slots

London Heathrow Airport Uses Real-Time Analytics for Improving Operations

Improving airport collaborative decision making is at the heart of airport operations centers (APOCs), recently established in several major European airports. In this paper, we describe a project commissioned by Eurocontrol, the organization in charge of the safety and seamless flow of European air traffic. The project’s goal was to examine the opportunities offered by the co-location and real-time data sharing in the APOC at London’s Heathrow airport, arguably the most advanced of its type in Europe. We developed and implemented a pilot study of a real-time data sharing and collaborative decision-making process, selected to improve the effciency of Heathrow’s operations. In Guo et al. (2019), we describe the system that we developed for Heathrow to better estimate passenger connection times, which takes advantage of the integration and data sharing that Heathrow’s APOC offers. In this paper, we describe the process of how we chose the subject of the pilot, namely the improvement of transfer-passenger flows through the airport, and how we helped Heathrow move from its existing legacy system for managing passenger flows to an advanced machine learning-based approach using real-time inputs. The system, which is now in operation at Heathrow, can predict which passengers are likely to miss their connecting flights, reducing the likelihood that departures will incur delays while waiting for delayed passengers. This can be done by offloading passengers in advance, by expediting passengers through the airport, or by modifying the departure times of aircraft in advance. By aggregating estimated passenger arrival time at various points throughout the airport, the system also improves passenger experiences at immigration and security desks, by enabling modifications to staffing levels in advance of expected surges in arrivals. The nine-stage framework we present here can support the development and implementation of other real-time data-driven systems. To the best of our knowledge, the proposed system is the first to use machine learning to model passenger flows in an airport.

Evaluation of ultrafine particle concentrations and size distributions at London Heathrow Airport

A study to monitor UFP at Heathrow Airport was undertaken in the autumn of 2016. The objective was to assess the context of measurements at the airport compared to measurements at “typical” traffic, background and rural locations in the south east of England. Measurements were made at two airport locations (called LHR2 and Oaks Road) at opposite ends of the airfield, to further understand the contribution of the airport to local air quality. Average concentrations showed that total particle number concentrations at the airport are typically lower than a traffic location and higher than an urban background location in London, matching the trends seen for NOx, PM10, PM2.5 and BC pollutants. However, the size distribution of the submicrometre particles at the airport is completely different to the London monitoring stations, with the airport PSD dominated by particles with a mode of 20 nm. In contrast, measurements of PN in London have a significantly larger mode of 30 nm. This study demonstrated that measurements of particle number from within the airport perimeter are dominated by the smallest particles and are closely associated with aircraft. Analysis of the operating modes at the airport showed that aircraft departing from the airport emit particles in much higher numbers than those arriving. Nucleation mode particles are commonly associated with emissions from combustion processes. However, measurement of these particles at the airport are not strongly correlated with Black Carbon. There does appear to be some correlation of nucleation mode particles with UV active BC particles (brown carbon, typically associated with biomass combustion or wood smoke) at the Heathrow airside monitoring station, LHR2. There is also modest association between nucleation mode particles and NO2. The study showed that the classical air pollutants measured at Heathrow are very similar in concentration to typical urban environments in London and south east England, but particle numbers in the sub 30 nm size range are markedly different to those measured in London.

Assessing strategic flight schedules at an airport using machine learning-based flight delay and cancellation predictions

To mitigate air traffic demand-capacity imbalances, large European airports implement strategic flight schedules, where flights are assigned arrival/departure slots several months prior to execution. We propose a generic assessment of such strategic schedules using predictions about arrival/departure flight delays and cancellations. We demonstrate our approach for strategic flight schedules in the period 2013–2018 at London Heathrow Airport. Together with the development of dedicated strategic flight schedule optimization models, our proposed approach supports an integrated strategic flight schedule assessment, where schedules are evaluated with respect to flight delays and cancellations.

Towards operational use of aircraft‐derived observations: a case study at London Heathrow airport

Mode‐Selective Enhanced Surveillance (Mode‐S EHS) aircraft reports can be collected at a low cost and are readily available around busy airports. The new work presented here demonstrates that observations derived from Mode‐S EHS reports can be used to study the evolution of temperature inversions since the data have a high spatial and temporal frequency. This is illustrated by a case study centred around London Heathrow airport for the period January 4–5, 2015. Using Mode‐S EHS reports from multiple aircraft and after applying quality control criteria, vertical temperature profiles are constructed by aggregating these reports at discrete intervals between the surface and 3,000 m. To improve these derived temperatures, four smoothing methods using low‐pass filters are evaluated. The effect of smoothing reduces the variance in the aircraft derived temperature by approximately half. After smoothing, the temperature variance between the altitudes 3,000 and 1,000 m is 1–2 K; below 1,000 m, it is 2–4 K. Although the differences between the four smoothing methods are small, exponential smoothing is favoured because it uses all available Mode‐S EHS reports. The resulting vertical profiles may be useful in operational meteorology for identifying elevated temperature inversions above 1,000 m. However, below 1,000 m they are less useful because of the reduced precision of the reported Mach number. A better source of in situ temperature observations would be for aircraft to use the meteorological reporting function of their automatic dependent surveillance system.