Skip to content

Poem visible from air for Heathrow's 80th birthday

News imageJake Mobbs/PA Heathrow Airport's runway is seen in the background of this shot. There's a housing estate in front of that. There's a field in the foreground with the words Gateway to the world written in a handwritten style. Below that the poem reads This is a place where we're more than allowed to have our heads up in the clouds. Below that it reads LHR 80 years, with an aeroplane logo. The writing is all in white and the field have brown parched looking grass.Jake Mobbs/PA
Part of the poem is etched in large letters in a nearby field

Part of a poem by Heathrow's poet-in-residence David Larbi has been written on a field in giant letters to celebrate the airport's 80th birthday.

The bird's-eye view is only visible to people flying above the field close to the west London airport.

London writer and TikTok star Larbi's poem, titled Gateway To The World, describes how Heathrow is "a place where we're more than allowed to have our heads up in the clouds".

Heathrow was originally called London Airport. Its first commercial flight departed on 31 May 1946, with a converted Lancaster bomber taking passengers to the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires.

Tented village

The first passenger terminals were ex‑military marquees erected as a "tented village", the airport said.

They were "primitive but comfortable" and passengers waited on floral-patterned armchairs and settees, with small tables containing vases of fresh flowers.

Some 63,000 passengers used the airport during its first year of operation.

The airport changed its name to Heathrow in 1966, and by 2025 passenger numbers had grown to 84.5 million.

More than 2.9 billion passengers have travelled through Heathrow on over 22 million flights since it opened, the airport said. New York, Dublin, Amsterdam and Paris are the most popular destinations over its history.

Since runway construction began in 1944 and it officially opened as London Airport in 1946, Heathrow has been more than a transport hub – it has served as the UK's gateway to the world and the runway for defining national moments.

Among its historic milestones are its first long-haul flight in 1957, greeting The Beatles after their first US tour in 1964, and launching supersonic passenger flights with Concorde in 1976.

News imageJake Mobbs/PA David Larbi is standing at a high viewpoint with the airport's control tower in the background behind him. He is wearing a hi-vis orange jacket over a dark zip up top, with a white T-shirt underneath and is holding a pen and notebook as he looks into the distance.Jake Mobbs/PA
David Larbi is the airport's first poet-in-residence

Larbi said the airport had brought "joy and connection" to people for eight decades.

He added: "I'm greatly honoured to be the airport's first poet-in-residence, with an ode that captures Heathrow's 80-year legacy, the excitement and wonder of air travel and all those who work daily to make Heathrow the incredible place it is."

Heathrow's chief executive Thomas Woldbye said: "For 80 years, Heathrow has been the place where journeys begin, where loved ones reunite, and where the UK meets the rest of the world."

Heathrow is hoping to secure planning permission by 2029 to build a third runway.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk

More on this story