London Heathrow Airport, west of the city, opened to civil air traffic on 31 May 1946. The site had begun as a private airfield and was taken over by the government during the Second World War, when it was developed as a Royal Air Force base, and was then handed over for use as London's main airport. The first scheduled flights used a field of temporary tents and a handful of runways. Over the following decades Heathrow grew steadily, adding terminals, a rail link and the London Underground connection, and became one of the busiest international airports in the world. Debates about its expansion, particularly a third runway, have been a long-running issue in British politics because of noise and environmental concerns.
Before and after
- 30 April 1946Birth of Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
- 7 May 1946Founding of Sony Group
- 20 May 1946Birth of Cher
- 24 May 1946Birth of Tansu Çiller
- 31 May 1946Construction of London Heathrow Airport
- 6 June 1946Founding of National Basketball Association
- 13 June 1946Launch of ABS-CBN Corporation
- 14 June 1946Birth of Donald J. Trump
- from 1 July 1946 to 25 July 1946Operation Crossroads
More in Art, literature & culture
- 1946First edition of Cannes Film Festival
- 1949Publication of Nineteen Eighty-Four
- c. 1950sRise of pop art
- 1955Publication of Guinness World Records
- from 31 March 1997 to 11 November 2022Premiere of Teletubbies
- 2003Construction of Three Gorges Dam
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.