Heathrow celebrates 75th anniversary by reuniting Brits
Heathrow is celebrating the safe reopening of international travel and its 75th anniversary by teaming up with over 10 industry partners, including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, to make thousands of pounds worth of free flights and experiences available to passengers travelling from the airport.
Image courtesy Heathrow
After 75 years and welcoming over 2.5 billion passengers through its doors, Britain’s biggest airport has launched the initiative to help reunite those in the UK with their family and friends around the world and help people to rediscover the joy of travel. It follows the further easing of Government travel restrictions for Brits, who no longer need to quarantine on their return to the UK if they are fully vaccinated and travelling from certain destinations. To provide further flexibility and reassurance, winners of the 'Come Fly Again' flights and experiences will have up to six months to redeem their packages.
The scheme launches as new research reveals two in three Brits (62%) haven’t seen some of their loved ones in over a year, with the typical family now having a distance of 1,724 miles between them and their furthest away loved one, the equivalent of travelling from London Heathrow to Tenerife, Istanbul or Moscow. One in three people (33%) said reuniting with friends and family is the driving force behind wanting to travel again.
Other partners involved in the initiative include Blue Air, Gordon Ramsay Plane Food, Fortnum & Mason, Leon, WH Smith, Macallan Whisky and Cignpost Diagnostics. All partners are helping Heathrow celebrate 75 years of connecting loved ones by adding to the flight experience with free meals, gifts and travel essentials.
According to the new research from Heathrow, two in five (38%) people feel desperate to travel overseas again, with Spain the most popular destination for Brits hoping to book this year. Nearly half of Brits feel optimistic about the future of travel, with over a third (37%) now feeling safe to go abroad due to Covid vaccinations. The most popular getaways Brits are keen to book first include a beach holiday (40%), a trip to the wilderness (36%) and an adventure holiday (22%), suggesting a mix of much needed R&R and once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
The research also found that the pandemic has made us more appreciative of travel, with two in five (40%) saying it is more important to them now compared to before the pandemic. Over a third of Brits (35%) said that they have struggled to switch off from work in the last year and nearly two thirds (63%) felt the negative impacts of staying at home on their mental health. Brits agreed that this is usually helped by being able to go abroad, with three in four (75%) saying that holidays help them to take a break from the stresses of life and 76% instantly feeling the positive effects on their mental health when on holiday.
Ross Baker, Chief Operating Officer at Heathrow commented: “As we celebrate 75 years of connecting the public to the world of travel, we’re delighted to be welcoming more passengers back to Heathrow. Now, more than ever, it’s important that we help to reconnect friends, family and loved ones across the globe, so we’re happy to be able to work with our incredible airport partners to make the experience more special after what has been such a difficult year, for so many.”
"Since it first opened in 1946 Heathrow has played host to some of the Britain’s most memorable moments, including welcoming the triumphant Team GB Olympic athletes from Rio and Beijing and the Beatles returning to the UK as global superstars in 1964."