London Heathrow Airport and global workspace provider Regus Express have agreed to develop the first independent business centre at the airport.
The Regus Express centre will open at Terminal 5 this June.
According to the airport this move is a response to the growing demand for ‘third place’ work locations where business travellers can check their emails, hold conference calls and meetings, and print documents.
The new business centre offer a quiet, professional business lounge with a co-working space, private workstations, to be known as ‘ThinkPods’ and secure WiFi, as well as meeting rooms available by the hour.
Heathrow Airport property director Stephen Wilkinson said: “We are delighted to welcome Regus Express to Heathrow.
“More business passengers pass through Heathrow than any other airport in the world, making the opening of this centre at Terminal 5 an innovative solution for our customers.”
Regus Third Place global managing director Phil Kemp said: “There has long been a need for more accessible business services and productive workspace at airports and we are delighted that Regus Express will soon become a fixture in the UK’s hub airport.
“On a wider level, our strategy is to continually expand our global network and diversify the type of location we offer, making it even more convenient for members to work flexibly and productively, when and where it suits them.”
Heathrow Airport also announced that it handled 5.4 million passengers in January, up 3.8% on the previous year.
Seats per aircraft increased 1.4%, load factors increased 0.6 percentage points on 2013, to 70.6%, while passengers per aircraft increased 2.2%, to 144.5.
BRIC passengers were up 5%, with China up 26% and Brazil up 6.8%, while the MINTs were up 5.8%, with Mexico recording the largest increase of 26.8% on the previous year.
Heathrow CEO Colin Matthews said: “January’s traffic figures reflect a strong start to the year and the increasing demand for long-haul routes to emerging market destinations, such as Chengdu and Mexico City, that only a hub airport can support.”