- Britain's Global Gateway
- Attracting Foreign Investment
- Importance of a Hub Airport
- Regional Benefits
- Heathrow and Jobs
- Vulnerable To Foreign Competition
Heathrow and Jobs
Heathrow is an economic powerhouse and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across the UK. With 72,000 people directly employed within Heathrow’s perimeter fence, it is the biggest single-site employer in the UK. Another 30,000 are directly employed outside the fence and a further 100,000 jobs in the local area are indirectly supported by the airport.
More than half of people working at Heathrow come from the five boroughs surrounding the airport – Ealing, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Slough and Spelthorne. In some boroughs, as many as one in nine people with a job work at Heathrow.
| Local authority | Number of people in employment | Total employed at Heathrow | % employed at Heathrow | Ratio employed at Heathrow |
| Ealing | 142,700 | 5,312 | 3.7% | 1 in 27 |
| Hillingdon | 120,400 | 8,254 | 7.7% | 1 in 15 |
| Hounslow | 107,200 | 10,695 | 10.0% | 1 in 10 |
| Slough | 59,700 | 3,015 | 5.0% | 1 in 20 |
| Spelthorne | 45,700 | 5,240 | 11.5% | 1 in 9 |
| Total | 475,700 | 32,516 | 6.8% | 1 in15 |
Source: Official Labour Market Statistics and Heathrow Employment Survey
Heathrow is also a major source of skills training. Through the Heathrow Academy, airport employees can study for nationally recognised qualifications, including apprenticeships and NVQs across a range of subjects. In the last two years alone, more than 300 people have gained qualifications that have helped improve their skills and career prospects.
The airport acts as a magnet for businesses such as hotels, warehouses, freight and logistics. By providing training, community initiatives, business generation and transport links, Heathrow helps local people to benefit from the wealth the airport creates – the Heathrow area today has some of the lowest unemployment rates in the region.
A huge number of jobs would be created by a third runway development. In total, more than 60,000 people worked on the Terminal 5 construction project and it is likely that similar number, if not more, would be needed to build a third runway. It is also estimated that third runway would safeguard a further 11,000 existing jobs at the airport.