DALLAS — Through its Public Investment Fund (PIF), the Saudi government will purchase a 10% stake from Spanish-based Ferrovial S.A., which is selling its 25% stake in FGP TopCo (TopCo), the holding company of Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd. The French-based independent private equity investment firm Ardian will offset the remaining 15%.

The PIF issued a statement via a media release saying that the deal is contingent upon the fulfillment of regulatory requirements and the broader approval of other TopCo shareholders. The PIF identified itself as a "long-term" partner of Heathrow and described the facility as "world-class."

Prior to the announcement, Ferrovial held the largest stake at London Heathrow Airport (LHR), with the Qatar Investment Authority holding a 20% stake. In light of this most recent news, the Qatari Sovereign Wealth Fund will now become the largest stakeholder.

Nearly seven million passengers passed through its four terminals last month, of which 2.2 million traveled during the 'half-term' holiday period. The United States and the United Arab Emirates enjoyed particularly robust demand. In the year-to-date period, LHR has seen nearly a 100% increase in passenger traffic to the Asia and Pacific region, largely linked to the relaxation of pandemic travel restrictions in Asia earlier this year.

This year has seen the addition of several new routes, with a new nonstop link to Lima (LIM) set to begin next month. LATAM Peru (LP) will offer five flights per week and will connect the two cities that have remained unconnected to date.

JetBlue (B6) also expanded earlier this year and added an additional daily service to New York (JFK). Virgin Atlantic (VS), a resident carrier that has chosen not to return to London Gatwick (LGW) following the pandemic, has added popular leisure destinations Male (MLE) and Dubai (DXB) to its route network in 2023.

Featured Image: A view from Heathrow's Control Tower, which overlooks Terminal 5, the hub for British Airways (BA). Photo: Heathrow Airport

https://airwaysmag.com/latam-peru-london-heathrow/