Heathrow will move Delta away from Virgin Atlantic in 2028

Heathrow will move Delta Air Lines from Terminal 3 to Terminal 4 in 2028, separating it from Virgin Atlantic, its joint venture partner on transatlantic routes, under the results of a terminal review the airport published on October 27. Virgin Atlantic, in which Delta owns a 49 per cent stake, said it will "consider all available options to challenge this outcome."

The review, which Heathrow carries out about once a decade and last completed when Terminal 2 opened in 2014, moves five airlines in all. Finnair and Japan Airlines will join Delta in moving from Terminal 3 to Terminal 4, LATAM will move from Terminal 3 to Terminal 2, and China Southern from Terminal 4 to Terminal 5, where it will join British Airways, its joint venture partner.

The five airlines operate about 1.83mn seats a year, around 3.5 per cent of Heathrow's total, according to Cirium data compiled by Head for Points. Delta accounts for almost half of that, with about 900,000 seats a year on up to 11 daily flights, and is more than twice the size of any other airline being moved.

Heathrow said the changes would make the best use of its limited space, reduce congestion and help keep passenger costs down, and that airlines representing 81 per cent of passengers supported the decision. Terminal 3 is its second-busiest terminal and carries heavy traffic at peak hours, and three airlines will leave it while none move in.

Virgin Atlantic chief executive Corneel Koster said moving Delta "to the remotely located Terminal 4 would create friction for customers, weaken competition and reduce choice", adding that Heathrow had chosen to split a joint venture that has operated together for more than a decade. Both airlines are reviewing legal options to appeal, according to Paddle Your Own Kanoo.

The practical effects fall mainly on connecting passengers, since customers transferring between Delta and Virgin Atlantic flights would need a bus between terminals, Delta passengers would lose access to the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse and Terminal 4 has no direct Heathrow Express service. The two airlines would also have to divide staff and resources across both buildings.

The decision does bring Delta alongside Air France and KLM, its SkyTeam partners in Terminal 4, which offers better connections to Europe. Virgin Atlantic, which joined SkyTeam in 2023, has long wanted to move to Terminal 2, an option unlikely to be available until Heathrow expands, and is reported to have ruled out moving to Terminal 4 itself.

Virgin is most likely to press the competitive argument, because neither British Airways nor American Airlines is moved by the review, so the core of the rival transatlantic joint venture stays in place while Virgin and Delta are split between two terminals.

What to watch: whether Virgin Atlantic and Delta formally challenge the decision, and how Heathrow's plans for a third runway, under which Terminal 3 would eventually be demolished.