Delta is moving to Heathrow's Terminal 4, according to a Sky News report Tuesday, splitting the American airline from its close partner Virgin Atlantic at Britain's busiest airport. The two airlines have shared Terminal 3 for years, and they work so closely on flights between the US and the UK that many travelers treat them almost as one airline. Starting in 2028, that's set to change, and Virgin is not happy about it.
What's Changing
Heathrow has decided to move Delta from Terminal 3 to Terminal 4 from 2028, according to people familiar with the plan cited by Sky News. It's part of a wider reshuffle of which airlines use which terminals, something Heathrow does roughly once a decade. Only a small number of the airport's roughly 80 airlines are being moved, and British Airways is staying put at Terminal 5.
Heathrow says the plan came out of consultations with airlines and is meant to make better use of its terminals, ease congestion and leave room for growth. A spokesperson said the changes would "unlock more capacity across terminals." According to the report, the option Heathrow picked involves the fewest airline moves, the least spending and the fastest timeline, and it's backed by airlines carrying 81% of Heathrow's passengers.
London Heathrow
Delta and Virgin Atlantic Are Being Split Up
"If this goes ahead, consumers will pay the price."
Corneel Koster, Virgin Atlantic CEOBooked on Delta or Virgin soon? Nothing changes yet. Connecting between them would mean switching terminals.
Contrail
Why Virgin Is Fighting It
Delta owns a stake in Virgin Atlantic, and the two run a joint venture across the Atlantic, sharing flights, schedules and revenue between the US and the UK. Sitting in the same terminal makes connecting between them much simpler. Virgin's CEO, Corneel Koster, said the move would "create friction for customers, weaken competition and reduce choice," adding, "If this goes ahead, consumers will pay the price." Virgin says it will "consider all available options to challenge this outcome," though it's not clear what legal route it could take. The report didn't include a response from Delta.
Delta wouldn't be alone in Terminal 4. Air France and KLM, its partners in the SkyTeam alliance, already fly from there, which is part of why the move makes sense to Heathrow even if it doesn't to Virgin.
What It Means for Travelers
If you have a trip booked on Delta or Virgin Atlantic anytime soon, nothing changes. The move isn't planned until 2028, and Virgin is challenging it.
If it does go ahead, the biggest difference would be for anyone connecting between the two airlines at Heathrow, or booking a Delta ticket that includes a Virgin flight (or the other way around). Instead of staying in one terminal, you'd likely have to travel between Terminals 3 and 4, which are on opposite sides of the airport and can't be reached on foot, so it means a transfer bus or train. That's more time to budget and one more thing that can go wrong on a tight connection. Virgin's warning that fares could rise is its own argument, and Heathrow says the reshuffle will actually help keep costs down, so it's too early to say whether you'll notice it in ticket prices.
For most travelers flying point to point between the US and London, it'll mostly mean checking which terminal your ticket says before you head to the airport, a habit worth having at Heathrow anyway.
