As many as 30 airlines are queuing up to start new routes or increase frequency on existing services from Heathrow but the capacity-squeezed airport claims it is being forced to turn away their business.
The airport’s chief executive, John Holland-Kaye, said the waiting list includes airlines from North America, South America and Asia.
He pointed out that a quarter of British exports are flown abroad via Heathrow as he pressed the case for building a third runway at the airport.
Holland-Kaye claimed rival Gatwick’s second runway proposals are “primarily about low-cost flights to Europe”, while expanding Heathrow is important for the future of the British economy.
“There is massive demand for flights into Heathrow,” he told The Telegraph.
“There are Chinese carriers that are queuing up to get here. Air China told me they could have four flights a day coming into Heathrow if there was only more capacity.”
Holland-Kaye claimed airlines are instead launching routes from rival hub airports in France and Germany, rather than going to Gatwick.
His comments came on the back of financial results for the nine months to September and as the Airports Commission prepares to launch a national consultation on aviation capacity early next month.