In pictures: Heathrow airport - BBC News
Images of Heathrow Airport show its growth from small aerodrome to the international hub airport of today.
In the foreground is a York aircraft bound for South Africa, and behind it American airliners being refuelled for their return journey to the United States. The caption for this 1946 picture states that this scene depicts one of the world's busiest airports, something that is as true today as it was then. Last year was the airport's busiest, with planes carrying 73.4 million passengers.