Heathrow Will Move Delta to Terminal 4 in 2028, Splitting It From Partner Virgin Atlantic

Delta Air Lines will have to leave Terminal 3 at London Heathrow for Terminal 4 in 2028, separating it from joint venture partner Virgin Atlantic, which it has shared the terminal with since 2016. Heathrow told airlines the results of its terminal occupancy review on Tuesday, October 27, 2026.

The decision was first reported by Sky News. Virgin Atlantic has objected on the record, and Heathrow has defended the plan.

Five airlines change terminals

Delta is one of five carriers on the move, according to One Mile at a Time and InsideFlyer. Delta, Finnair and Japan Airlines go from Terminal 3 to Terminal 4, China Southern goes from Terminal 4 to Terminal 5, and LATAM goes from Terminal 3 to Terminal 2.

The other airlines stay in their current terminals, according to the reports. One Mile at a Time puts the five movers at under 4% of the airport’s traffic, while InsideFlyer, citing Cirium data, says Delta alone flies about 900,000 seats a year at Heathrow, more than twice any of the other four.

Heathrow says it runs these reviews about once a decade, and that the last one was in 2014, when Terminal 2 opened. A spokesperson said the goal is to make the best use of limited space, improve operational resilience and match terminal capacity with demand.

“As demand to travel through Heathrow continues to grow and capacity remains constrained, the small number of moves will unlock more capacity across terminals, reduce congestion, improve the flow of passengers through the airport and help keep passenger costs down,” the spokesperson said, in a statement carried by Paddle Your Own Kanoo. InsideFlyer reports that Heathrow said airlines representing 81% of passengers supported the decision.

Virgin Atlantic pushes back

Virgin Atlantic chief executive Corneel Koster said moving Delta “to the remotely located Terminal 4 would create friction for customers, weaken competition and reduce choice.”

“As all other airports seek to co-locate joint venture partners, Heathrow has chosen to split ours after more than a decade together. If this goes ahead, consumers will pay the price,” Koster added.

Paddle Your Own Kanoo, citing Sky News, reports that both airlines are reviewing their legal options to appeal. Delta’s own newsroom carried no statement at the time of writing.

Why Delta and Virgin share a terminal

The two airlines are more than codeshare partners. Delta owns a non-controlling 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic’s parent company, and both sit in a combined transatlantic joint venture with Air France and KLM, according to Delta’s latest annual report.

As a SkyTeam member, Delta used to fly from Terminal 4 at London Heathrow Airport. It moved some routes to Terminal 3 first, then brought its Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City and Philadelphia flights across on September 14, 2016, putting its whole Heathrow operation next to Virgin.

Nat Pieper, then Delta’s senior vice president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said at the time that having its Heathrow service “under one roof is crucial” to a synchronized joint venture. After Terminal 3 closed for more than a year during the pandemic, the two airlines moved back in together on July 15, 2021.

What changes for passengers

The biggest effect falls on travelers connecting between the two airlines, for example from a Delta flight out of the US onto one of Virgin’s routes beyond London. Instead of changing gates in one building, they would need an inter-terminal bus between Terminal 3 and Terminal 4, both InsideFlyer and Paddle Your Own Kanoo report.

Terminal 4 sits on the southeast edge of the airfield, apart from the central Terminal 2 and 3 complex. Heathrow Express trains do not stop there: rail passengers change at Terminals 2 and 3 for a free Elizabeth line hop to Terminal 4, the operator says.

One Mile at a Time expects Delta passengers to lose access to Virgin’s Clubhouse lounge in Terminal 3. Delta would, however, sit alongside Air France and KLM, its other transatlantic venture partners, which already fly from Terminal 4, and InsideFlyer notes that this eases connections onto their European flights.

The moves are planned for 2028. None of the reports gives an exact date.

A terminal with a closing date in view

The reshuffle concerns a building Heathrow already plans to retire. Its August 2025 expansion proposal set aside £15 billion to modernize the existing airport by expanding Terminal 2 and “ultimately closing Terminal 3,” in phases.

Heathrow said that modernization is planned whether or not a third runway is built. The runway itself, up to about 11,500 feet (3,500 m) long to the northwest, is priced separately at £21 billion, and Heathrow can already charge passengers for early costs.