'Heathrow looks like a Second World War airport': Emirates chief Sir Tim Clark slams 'dismal and dilapidated' airport which is 'seriously lagging' behind its rivals

Heathrow Airport has been described as 'dismal and dilapidated' by the chief of Emirates airlines, who likened the facilities to that of a Second World War airport.

Sir Tim Clark, president of the Dubai based flights operator, slammed the experience offered to customers at the west London airport and claimed it was 'seriously lagging' behind its rivals.

The 74-year-old said he had a 'dismal experience' when travelling from Terminal 3 recently and believes bosses have put their shareholders' interests before that of the business.

He called for the terminal building to be redesigned to make it better for passengers, with the plaza needing to be reduced in size to allow more room for security and check-in.

Speaking to The Times, Sir Clark said: 'I was at Heathrow the other day and walking out of our lounge the ceiling height is awful. It looks like a utilitarian structure, post-Second World War. It is just not good enough.'

Sir Tim Clark, pictured in 2016, slammed the experience offered to customers at Heathrow Airport and claimed it was 'seriously lagging' behind its rivals

Sir Clark said he had a 'dismal experience' when travelling from Terminal 3 (pictured)  recently and believes bosses have put their shareholders' interests before that of the business

He continued: 'It's an old airport. I'm afraid it's very difficult. You need to open up the whole terminal.

'Where we are based, new airports are being built employing the latest technologies to streamline the process of all the customer-facing elements. That is not the case at Heathrow.'

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Boost for Heathrow holidaymakers as regulator says passenger charges could be cut to £23.70

Emirates are one of the many airlines involved in a long-running row with Heathrow over the airport's take-off and landing fees, which was reopened in March after an intervention by the competition authorities.

A ruling was issued by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the UK aviation sector regulator, stating that charges per passenger must be cut by about 6 per cent, or a further £1.52, to £23.72 next year and then to £23.70 in 2026.

The ruling came after air passengers were warned they will face higher fares and longer journeys in October last year as air traffic control charges for airlines were raised.

Charges are paid by airlines but are generally passed on to passengers in air fares.

The CAA had previously ruled in March last year that the charge per passenger should be £25.43 in 2024, £25.24 in 2025 and £25.28 in 2026.

Arguments between the airport and airlines over these fees had started when neither could agree on whose projections were most accurate about the pace of the recovery in the aviation industry since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Because of this, the CAA is yet to find a charging formula that would allow Heathrow to successfully recover and not penalise their passengers.

Heathrow (pictured) rebounded to profit for the first time in four years in 2023 after passenger levels jumped by nearly 29 per cent to 79.2 million, the third-highest in its history

Emirates are one of the many airlines involved in a long-running row with Heathrow over the airport's take-off and landing fees (file image of an Emirates aircraft)

Heathrow rebounded to profit for the first time in four years in 2023 after passenger levels jumped by nearly 29 per cent to 79.2 million, the third-highest in its history.

It recorded a £38million adjusted pre-tax profit, compared to a £684million loss the prior year when staff shortages and delays led to the travel hub imposing a daily passenger cap over the busy summer period.

The airport expects to attract a record 81.4 million passengers in 2024, underpinned by travel demand continuing to recover despite widespread cost-of-living pressures.

Heathrow said: 'Every pound we want to spend on improving airport facilities needs approval from our regulator. Despite having our proposals cut back in the current regulatory settlement, we will still invest £3.6 billion upgrading our infrastructure over the next three years.

'We will continue to invest and to work with our airline partners to build an airport fit for the future.'