London's Heathrow Airport is one of the busiest hubs in the world and serves as a major point to connect traffic from Asia and Africa to North America.
As Britain's main international airport, Heathrow has been working hard to upgrade its facilities. In recent years, the airport has opened two new terminal buildings and has conducted significant renovations to others.
The greatest constraint on the airport, however, has been its lack of runways. Though more than 72 million passengers pass through Heathrow every year, the facility still operates using just two runways.
That's right, two. This makes operations for the airport quite challenging.
But if Heathrow's latest expansion plans are approved, things are about to change for the airport.
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Though Heathrow's roots can be traced back as early as 1930, the foundations of the modern facility we know today were laid during World War II.
During the war, the facility was known as RAF Heston and featured a military control tower surrounded by a series of runways configured in a "Star of David" formation.
In 1946, the facility was reconfigured for civilian use.
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