Heathrow Area Transport Forum

Heathrow Area Transport Forum

Working together for better surface transport access to Heathrow

HATF Board Meeting 11th June 2026 Minutes

by

Filed under: 2026 HATF Main Board.

Present

Anthony Smith (AS) – HATF (Chair)  
Mark Frost (MF) – HATF (Independent Technical Advisor)
Alan Tilly (AT) – Hillingdon Council Transport Planning and Development Team Manager
Catherine Berry (CB) – Department for Transport Head of Roads Surface Access, Heathrow
Expansion
Matin Gilmour (MG) – Department for Transport Deputy Director, Policy, Heathrow Expansion
Liz Garlinge (LG) – National Highways Network Development Director
Shamal Ratnayaka (SR) – Transport for London Aviation Strategy Lead
Matt Haywood (MH) – Network Rail Lead Strategic Planner
Keith McNally (KM) – Confederation of Passenger Transport UK Operations Director
Chris Joyce (CJ) – Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Assistant Director of Placemaking, Partnerships and Sustainability
Tiana Kristeen (TK) – Council for the Independent Scrutiny of Heathrow Airport (CISHA) Project Manager
Laura Keith (LK) – CISHA Head of Communications and Engagement
Sophie Chapman (SC) – HAL (Heathrow Airport Limited) Surface Access Director
Andy Watson (AW) – HAL Long Term Growth – Surface Access Lead
Simi Kullar (SK) – HAL Sustainable Travel Manager
Sarah Turner (ST) – HAL Sustainable Travel & Policy Lead
Tim Wells (TW) – HAL H8 Strategy Manager
Tom Prowse (TP) – HAL Head of Surface Access Commercial
Sam Berry (SB) – HAL Policy Lead

Apologies

Tim Leech (TL) – HAL Head of Surface Access Strategy
Lindsey Olliver (LO) – Unite the Union Co-ordinating Officer
Susan James (SJ) – Transport Watchdog Head of Casework
Peter Bradley (PB) – UK Coach Operators Association (UKCOA) Managing Director
Christian Wolmar (CW) – London Cycling Campaign Trustee
Tanvi Vyas (TV) – Heathrow Access Advisory Group (HAAG) representative
Edward Richardson (ER) – Business London Programme Director, Transport

Live Actions

Action 25

HAL: to provide more detail about plan for hitting the target for carbon emissions

Update: Underway, to be presented at a future HATF Board in Heathrow update.
Date opened: 02/04/2025
Owner: HAL
Target completion date: Sep 2026

Action 27

HAL to look into understanding Kiss and Fly users, and how we can move them along the ‘Sustainability Spectrum’ onto parking or more sustainable modes.

Update: Underway, to be presented at a future HATF Board in Heathrow update.
Date opened: 11/06/2025
Owner: HAL
Target completion date: Sep 2026

Action 35

HAL to share where passengers are coming from alongside the mode split, alongside the mode split, and also how the overall PT total breaks down across modes.

Update: New action item: January 2026 Board
Date opened: 20/01/2026
Owner: HAL
Target completion date: Sep 2026

Action 36

AS to produce blog post on Christmas Day bus services.

Update: New action item: January 2026 Board
Date opened: 20/01/2026
Owner: HAL
Target completion date: Sep 2026

Action 41

HAL: share mode share by Passenger purpose

Update: New action item: March 2026 Board
Date opened: 20/01/2026
Owner: HAL
Target completion date: Sep 2026

Action 42

HAL (AW) share mode share by passenger purpose

Update: New action item: June 2026 Board
Date opened: 11/06/2026
Owner: HAL
Target completion date: Sep 2026

Action 43

HATF: Chair: send letter to CAA & DfT regarding approach to Surface Access

Update: New action item: June 2026 Board
Date opened: 11/06/2026
Owner: HATF (Chair)
Target completion date: Sep 2026

1. Welcome and Introductions

The Chair, Anthony Smith (AS), welcomed attendees to the third Board meeting of 2026.

2. Minutes and actions from previous meeting 

Action Updates

Simi Kullar (SK) provided action updates:

  • Action 37: improvements are being made within the multi-storey car park (MSCPs) in order to improve the pickup experience including within MSCP2, which has had a positive impact so far. AS asked about the recent move of Private Hire Vehicle (PHV) pickup out of MSCP4 and into a car park, to which Tom Prowse (TP) shared that the move was due to structural issues of the support beams within the forecourt. There is a remote pickup location within Park and Ride 4, which is a three-minute bus journey from Terminal 4.
  • Action 40: SK shared total parking figures since Terminal Drop Off Charge (TDOC) was introduced (in November 2021) which has increased by 36.1%, compared to 50% increase in passenger numbers during the same period. Liz Garlinge (LG) put forward that perhaps the £7 charge is too low to have an impact of kiss and fly usage, and that it would be good to know the impact if we increased to £20 as it is clear passengers are happy to tolerate £5 – £7. Andy Watson (AW) will take this as an action for the expansion modelling team to see if this is feasible. Chris Joyce (CJ) shared that the current charge should be put into the 2019 model to see if they produce the current observed outcome, to better understand the accuracy of the models to predict a consumer response.

3. Heathrow Update

Sophie Chapman (SC) provided a Heathrow business update including:

  • Impacts have been felt as a result of the Middle East war, with 5% fewer passengers year on year in April.
  • There has been an increase in transfer rates as passengers are rerouting via Heathrow, which shows the importance of Heathrow being a hub
  • Heathrow forecasting team will update the passenger forecast for the rest of the year to reflect a possible softening in demand.
  • From a Surface Access point of view, an increase in transfer passengers means fewer people accessing the airport by public transport.

Mode Share (Profiler data):

  • April 2026 Monthly Public Transport Mode Share was 46.2% which is a slight drop on March which was 47.8%, meaning our MAA is now 46.4%, down 0.2%.
  • Heathrow Express has seen good revenue during May, which could be in part due to Piccadilly Line disruption.
  • Kiss and fly fell 1.3% from March to April.
  • AS asked what the mode share for the next 12 months will look like, to which SC responded that there are no big-hitting projects coming up, so there could be a gradual uptake of public transport. The next big improvement is the new Piccadilly line trains.

Project Updates:

  • Work to tackle nuisance parking around the airport continues. The Approved Meet and Greet scheme has moved out of British Parking Association (BPA) control to Police Crime Prevention Initiative (CPI). We are keen to see more operators join the scheme, to make it more impactful.
  • Authorised Vehicle Area (AVA) toilets will be opened shortly for private hire vehicle drivers to use.
  • Electric Vehicle (EV) charging at Hatton Cross station is now available to use. AS asked if EV chargers are a trip attractor, to which LG replied that as there is now enough provision in London and South East, this is less of a worry than previous years. Alan Tilly (AT) shared that a planning application for a large charging station to the north of the A4 Bath Road has been submitted to Hillingdon Council.
  • SC noted that there will be a gap of EV charging provision within the Taxi Feeder Park (TFP), whilst the old chargers are decommissioned and new chargers are installed. This project is currently progressing through governance. Shamal Ratnayaka (SR) noted that the taxi trade community posed this question to the Mayor via Mayor’s questions.
  • MSCP4 demolition works are progressing, with the car park closures planned for 23 June.

4. H8 Update

Tim Wells (TW) shared the latest on H8 plans, which will cover the period between January 2027 to December 2031 with further information provided within the slides:

  • Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) funding proposal is £1.9bn lower that Heathrow’s proposal. This difference in capital portfolio is due to the CAA’s view that there is not a strong business case for all the projects included in the proposed funding envelope; this includes the majority of Surface Access related projects.
  • AS queried if Heathrow expected this result, to which TW shared that we were expecting this, but we were surprised that the capital limit was that much lower and that this will pose an issue for Heathrow to deliver a good level of service alongside making sustainability improvements.
  • AS also asked what would happen if expansion does go ahead, as many projects may have been moved to expansion funding pot and may not make it back into H8 funding. TW responded that it would be challenging to do, but there are some options to allow this to happen.
  • Chris Joyce (CJ) shared that this settlement demonstrates the CAA and airlines views that sustainable transport is not an integral part of the airport. Sam Berry (SB) added that the CAA’s primary duty is to passengers and that Heathrow would like the government to drive CAA away from passenger only and have a wider view including regional growth.
  • Others including SR, SC and LG agreed that HATF Chair should write to DfT and CAA to look at Surface Access in a more holistic way and the need for Surface Access investment in the context of H8 and expansion, with CJ adding that decisions made in H8 will have a greater consequence with expansion. Keith McNally (KM) added that this would not be done anywhere else, by having a massive project in place but no transport impact mitigation plans in place.
  • MF added that no party has seemingly undertaken any sort of assessment on the implications of increasing the number of passengers by 10% on the network. HATF therefore has no visibility on the potential risks associated with the H8 proposals.

5. HATF Expansion Group

AW provided an update on the work covered by the HATF Expansion Group so far:

  • AW summarised the past few meetings, with reflections and key points provided within slides.
  • CJ noted that the Heathrow engagement is fragmented, and more internal conversations should be taking place between departments, and Mark Frost (MF) added that the single largest issue is the HAL position that rail is not required to facilitate expansion. LG added that phasing between construction and finished state is crucial and has not been covered.
  • Overall, there was general agreement in the room that engagement on Surface Access matters had been positive and productive.
  • Martin Gilmour (MG) shared that DfT are happy to update HATF about Airport National Policy Statement (ANPS), which they are aiming to release in July for public consultation and will be accompanied by a vision statement.
  • Modelling results are in the process of being shared; this includes modelling different pricing scenarios for parking.
  • Implications of autonomous vehicles are the most commonly asked question at HATF expansion SIG meetings.

6. HATF Submission to ANPS Refresh

MF shared that the document has now been sent to DfT and noted that key points include how the wider network will work with expansion and wider economic growth and resilience.

7. BAU Update

Sarah Turner (ST) shared information on business as usual work, including an update on the progress of the 2025 Annual Travel Report, Journey Time Analysis work, a review of Surface Access best practice at other airports, and ongoing Way2Go engagement with Team Heathrow colleagues. Further information is provided within the slides.

  • CJ shared that for less frequent services, such as bus, it can be frustrating if the colleague is delayed at their shift and miss an infrequent bus service.
  • The Annual Travel report covering 2025 will shortly be published.

8. AOB

HATF Chair will meet with Heathrow West, following a request from Heathrow West. SR flagged a question about who will take responsibility and accountability of surface access mitigations if Heathrow West proposals go ahead.

Next meeting: Thursday 17th September (Mott MacDonald, Fleet Place)

HATF Board Meeting 11th June 2026 SlidesDownload