Amazing Vintage Photos of Heathrow Airport, London in the 1950s

Heathrow Airport is a major international airport in London, it was built in 1929 as a small airfield. It was used largely for test flying with commercial flights taking off from nearby Heston and Hanworth Park airfields. In the 1950s it was known as London Airport. In 2019, it handled a record 80.8 million passengers, and 475,861 aircraft movements. It is the primary hub for British Airways and the primary operating base for Virgin Atlantic.

As traffic boomed Heathrow Airport found itself with an ever-increasing demand for passenger facilities. The Queen inaugurated a new building in 1955 (Terminal 2) and the tunnel which provides the main road access to Heathrow’s central area was opened.

Here below are some vintage photos that show Heathrow Airport in the 1950s.

#1 The construction of the new ‘airways town’ at Stanwell, on the outskirts of London Airport (later Heathrow), 2nd March 1950.

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#2 Channel 9 where passengers wait for the arrival of the air terminal, 1955.

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#3 Channel 7 where passengers queue ready to move through to customs, 9th June 1955.

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#4 The airside restaurant that overlooks the apron where planes are refueled and passengers embark and disembark. 9th June 1955

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#5 The Vickers Armstrong Vanguard four engined turboprop airliner about to depart London airport, 1959.

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#6 Apron and the flat roof where friends and family of traveling passengers can wave goodbye as the planes takeoff, 1955.

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#7 The Waiting pen for channel 7 where passengers queue ready to move through to customs, 1955.

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#8 Photograph taken of the de Havilland Comet, the world’s first commercial jetliner, leaving Heathrow.

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#9 An aerial picture of Heathrow, 1955.

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#10 BOAC Mechanics servicing the engines of the Comet airliners at Heathrow airport, July 1952

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#11 American jazz musician Count Basie nd his orchestra arrive at London Airport for a tour of Britain, 4th April 1957.

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#12 The Duke Of Edinburgh arrives at Heathrow Airport, on leave from his naval duties in Malta for a holiday in Britain, 27th July 1950

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#13 Servicing wagons prepare to pull away from the plane waiting on the tarmac. 9th June 1955.

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#14 Construction of the main access tunnel under the runway to the central terminal area at Heathrow airport, 1953.

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#15 English journalist Anne Scott-James with Joan Downes at Heathrow Airport before a tour of Europe, 15th March 1954.

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#16 The England football team arrives back at London Airport (Heathrow) from Rio after failure in the World Cup, 10th July 1950

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#17 General enquiries desk at Heathrow Airport, 1955.

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#18 Control Tower of Heathrow Airport, 1957.

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#19 Seating in the Europa building, now called Terminal 2, 1950s.

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#20 The Heathrow Air Traffic Control Tower, 1955.

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#21 Entrance to public post office, 1955.

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#22 Hungarian-American actress Zsa Zsa Gabor arrives at Heathrow, 1956.

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#23 Restaurant and cafeteria, 1950s.

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#24 Fortes Duty Free shop, 1950s.

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#25 Marilyn Monroe with her husband, playwright Arthur Miller, 1956.

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#26 Fortes snack bar, 1950s.

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#27 Fortes snack bar, 1950s.

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#28 Cocktail bar, 1950s.

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#29 Fortes Grill and Griddle restaurant, 1950s.

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#30 Fortes Grill and Griddle restaurant, 1950s.

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#31 Elizabeth Taylor and husband, film producer Mike Todd, arriving at Heathrow, 1958.

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#32 Britannic Bar, 1950s.

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#33 Britannic Bar, 1950s.

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#34 Airside, restaurant seating area overlooking apron, 1950s.

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#35 Lord Anthony Moynihan, 3rd Baron Moynihan, is greeted on arrival at Heathrow by ‘Miss Calypso of 1957’ Julia Martin, 1957.

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#36 Airside, restaurant seating area overlooking apron, 1950s.

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#37 Fortes Grill and Griddle restaurant, 1950s.

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#38 American opera singer Maria Callas, 1958.

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#39 Airside restaurant seating area, 1950s.

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#40 Central restaurant prep area, 1950s.

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#41 Aircraft catering, 1950s.

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