As the UK’s only hub-airport, Heathrow’s connectivity is unrivalled. We connect seven Scottish airports to 234 destinations and reach 92% of the global economy on a direct flight.
With the airport at capacity, and having seen our busiest year ever in 2024, we announced a multi-billion-pound phased investment to upgrade existing infrastructure while laying the groundwork for a third runway.
Expanding the UK’s hub airport ensures that Scotland remains competitive in the global market. The expanded capacity will help exporting businesses across the country. Air cargo is central to our role as a hub airport – 70% of all UK air cargo by value travels through Heathrow. Our extensive network enables businesses from every region and nation to share over 200 billion pounds worth of trade with global markets each year.
By the end of 2023, Scottish salmon became Heathrow’s largest export by volume with over 23,000 tonnes being flown across the world. But salmon isn’t the only major Scottish export at Heathrow – whiskey and Walker’s Shortbread are two more products that are pooled in the belly hold of passenger planes.
It’s not just exporting businesses that will benefit from Heathrow’s investment. This is the largest private investment ever made in the UK’s transport network and offers huge opportunities for businesses looking to join Heathrow’s supply chain. In 2024, Heathrow invested over £10.6m in our supply chain in Scotland and over 76% of the businesses we worked with were SMEs. Billions of pounds will be used to transform Heathrow’s current infrastructure within our existing boundary. From enhancing our terminal infrastructure and reconfiguring the layout of the airfield, to improving bus and coach connections, this investment programme will improve our resilience, environmental credentials and encourage sustainable and active travel to and from the airport.
Our new investment will bring more opportunities for exporters and businesses across Scotland to achieve our vision of being an extraordinary airport, fit for the future.
How to get involved Heathrow’s supply chain:
If your business is interesting in working with Heathrow get in touch with the team at procurement@heathrow.com. Alternatively, you can find out more about working with Heathrow here:
heathrow.com/company/doing-business-with-heathrow
